HON.  WILLIAM  J.  BRYAN, 


THE  GREAT  FIGHT 

.  .  FOR  .  . 

FREE  SILVER 

An  Interesting  History  of  the  first  great  struggle  in  which 

the  Fearless  and  Brilliant  Leader  of  the  People 

championed  the  cause  of  humanity  in  the 

memorable  campaign  of  1896. 

It  recounts  his  heroic  and  untiring  efforts  in  the  Halls  of  Congress,  at 

the  Chicago  Convention,  and  in  his  great  campaign  throughout 

the  country;  his  matchless  oratory;  the  splendid 

achievements  won,  and  the  brilliant  outlook 

for  the  future  of  Bi-Metalism,  and 

a  Biographical  sketch  of 

MRS.  BRYAN 


IT  CONTAINS   AN 


AUTHORIZED  BIOGRAPHY 

OF  HON.  WM.  JENNINGS  BRYAN,  PREPARED  BY  R.  L.  METCALF,  ESQ., 
OF  THE  OMAHA  WORLD-HERALD,  ASSISTED  IN  OTHER  PARTS  BY 
R.  C.  MINDILL,  OF  THE  N.  Y.  JOURNAL. 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED 


EDGEWOOD  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


Copyright  1897,  t>y  M.  J.  COGHLAN. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 


In  the  services  to  the  nation  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the 
rail-splitter ;  of  James  A.  Garfield,  the  canal-boy ;  of 
James  G.  Elaine,  the  school-master ;  of  the  hosts  of  men, 
who  have  risen  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  place  and 
power,  the  splendid  possibilities  of  American  citizenship 
have  been  amply  demonstrated. 

It  is  with  these  possibilities  that  this  little  book  has 
to  do.  For  it  no  literary  merit  is  claimed.  It  goes  to 
the  public  as  the  simple  and  hastily-written  life-history 
of  one  who,  unaided  by  inherited  wealth,  or  environ- 
ment, other  than  that  of  the  great  common  people  with 
whom  he  has  cast  his  lot,  has  risen  from  obscurity  to 
world-wide  fame. 

This  book  deals  with  facts,  not  surmises  or  idle  com- 
pliments. It  is  not  intended  as  a  feather  in  the  plume 
of  knighted  hero,  or  banner  upon  the  wall  of  moated 
castle.  Its  only  purpose  is  to  familiarize  the  people  of 
to-day  with  one  who,  by  force  of  ability,  and  unswerving 
honesty,  has,  like  the  martyr,  Lincoln,  won  his  way  to 
fame. 

Lincoln  said  that  he  knew  that  God  loved  the  common 
people  because  He  made  so  many  of  them.  William 
Jennings  Bryan  has  manfully  fought  their  battles,  un- 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE, 

dismayed  by  organized  opposition,  and  unswerved  by 
temptations  of  place  and  power.  The  honors  that  have 
come  to  him  have  come  because  the  people  have  recog- 
nized in  him  the  nearest  approach  to  that  high  ideal  of 
the  Christian  statesman,  which  was  held  up  by  the 
founders  of  the  Republic  to  be  the  guide  of  future 
generations. 

To  the  cause  of  popular  government,  represented  by 
its  ablest  defender — William  J.  Bryan — this  book  is 
respectfully  dedicated. 

R.  L.  METCALFE. 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 
Bryan's  Early  Days 19 

CHAPTER   II. 
Bryan's  Power  Over  Men 45 

CHAPTER  III. 
Bryan  in  Nebraska 67 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Bryan  Enters  Congress 100 

CHAPTER  V. 
Bryan  as  "Eland's  Lieutenant" 122 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Bryan's  Determined  Fight 138 

CHAPTER  VII. 
"  The  Grave  Gives  Up  Its  Dead  " 165 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
How  Nebraska  was  Redeemed 195 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Bryan  at  Arlington     .    . .218 

CHAPTER  X. 
Bryan  as  a  Lawyer 238 

CHAPTER  XL 
Bryan  as  an  Orator 246 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Bryan  at  Home 260 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
Perils  of  the  Gold  Standard 269 


7'ABLE  Of<  CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTF:R  xiv. 

A  Voice  from  Boston 277 

CHAPTER   XV. 
Cernuschi  on  the  Issue 284 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
John  M.  Thurston  on  Money 290 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
Moreton  Frewen  on  the  Issue 298 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 
The  Chicago  Convention 311 

CHAPTER   XIX. 
Bryan's  Speech 318 

CHAPTER   XX. 
Convention  Continued 332 

CHAPTER  XXL 
Bryan's  Speech  at  Madison  Square  Garden,  N.  Y.  .    .    .  358 

CHAPTER   XXII. 
Bryan's  Letter  Accepting  Populist  Nomination     ....  405 

CHAPTER   XXIII. 
Bryan's  Speech  at  Lincoln,  Neb 408 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 
Bryan's  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  .    .    .    .419 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Bryan's  Speech  on  the  Rothschild-Morgan  Bond  Con- 
tract      433 


TABLE   OP    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
Speech  of  Claude  A.  Swanson 457 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 
The  Fires  Still  Burn  ^82 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

HON.  "W.  J.  BRYAN FRONTISPIECE. 

MRS.  W.  J.  BRYAN .*....    17 

MRS.  AY.  J.  BRYAN  AND  CHILDREN    .    .    , 18 

HON.  "W.  J.  BRYAN'S  EESIDENCE  AT  LINCOLN,  NEB.  .    35 
HON.  "W.  J.  BRYAN'S  FARM  RESIDENCE  NEAR  SALEM, 

ILLINOIS 36 

HON.  W.  J.  BRYAN  AT  THE  AGE  OF  30 53 

HON.  B.  K.  TILLMAN 54 

HON.  DAVID  TURPIE 75 

HON.  SAMUEL  PASCO 70 

HON.  H.  M.  TELLER 85 

HON.  KICHARD  P.  BLAND 86 

HON.  JNO.  W.  DANIEL 95 

HON.  J.  C.  S.  BLACKBURN .    96 

HON.  JAS.  K.  JONES 105 

HON.  F.  M.  COCKRELL 106 

HON.  CHAS.  F.  CRISP 147 

HON.  EOBT.  E.  PATTISON 148 

HON.  HORACE  CHILTON 157 

HON.  E.  C.  WALTHALL 158 

HON.  "W.  J.  STONE  ,  199 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

CLARK  Ho  WELL,  ESQ.  .,.«...„ .  200 

J.  E.  MCLEAN,  ESQ 209 

HON.  G.  G.  VEST .    .  210 

HON.  STEPHEN  M.  WHITE 235 

HON.  J.  P.  ALTGELD „ 286 

HON.  CLAUDE  MATTHEWS ......'.      245 

HON.  ALEX.  M.  DOCKERY 246 

HON.  HORACE  BOIES 355 

HON.  ADLAI  STEVENSON 356 

Miss  MINNA  MURRAY  (The  Girl  in  White)    ....  365 
ARTHUR  J.  SEW  ALL   .  .366 


r  v 


CHAPTER  I. 
BRYAN'S  EARLY  DAYS. 

William  Jennings  Bryan,  the  Democratic  nomi« 
nee  for  President  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Salem,  Marion  County,  Illinois, 
March  19,  1860.  He  is  the  descendant  of  the 
Jennings  and  the  Bryan  families,  whose  men  and 
women  made  the  world  better  by  their  existence. 
None  of  these  achieved  national  distinction,  but 
each  appears  to  have  performed  his  or  her  part 
in  life  with  strict  fidelity  to  duty.  Along  all  the 
branches  of  the  very  numerous  family  it  is  not 
difficult  to  observe  the  existence  of  a  strong  fam- 
ily pride.  Not  that  pride  which  comprehends  an 
aristocracy,  nor,  indeed,  that  which  considers 
genius,  but  a  pride  that  contemplates  the  ances- 
try of  honest  men  and  women,  who  provided 
well  for  their  families,  educated  their  children, 
bestowed  charity  where  charity  was  deserved  and 
contributed  materially  to  society  in  their  respec- 
tive spheres. 

The  father  of  William  Jennings  Bryan  was 
Silas  Lillard  Bryan,  and  his  mother's  maiden 
name  was  Mariah  Elizabeth  Jennings.  The 
American  history  of  the  Bryan  family  begins  in 

2  19 


2O 

Culpepper  County,  Virginia.  A  church  still 
standing  in  that  vicinity  is  known  as  the  "  Bryan 
Church,"  and  the  house  in  which  Silas  Lillard 
Bryan  was  born  is  also  intact. 

William  Bryan,  the  great  grandfather  of  the 
presidential  nominee,  the  first  of  the  family  known 
to  the  descendants,  lived  in  Culpepper  County, 
Virginia.  Five  children  were  born  to  this  couple. 
One  of  these  was  John  Bryan,  the  grandfather  of 
William  J.  Bryan.  In  1807,  John  Bryan  married 
Nancy  Lillard.  Miss  Lillard  was  the  daughter  of 
one  of  the  best  families  in  Virginia,  and  she  was 
a  woman  of  unusual  talent  and  strength  of  char- 
acter. In  1828,  John  Bryan  and  wife  moved  to 
Cabal  County,  living  there  two  years,  finally 
locating  in  Mason  County,  Virginia,  where  they 
resided  until  their  death.  To  this  couple  ten 
children  were  born.  Of  these  children  two  are 
living  to-day.  One  of  these  children  was  Silas 
Lillard  Bryan,  the  father  of  the  presidential 
candidate. 

Silas  Lillard  Bryan  was  born  near  Sperryville, 
in  what  was  then  Culpepper  County,  Virginia,  in 
1822.  He  located  in  Illinois  in  1842  and  lived  in 
Marion  County  until  his  death.  Silas  Lillard 
Bryan  was  purely  a  self-made  man.  He  worked 
his  way  through  McKendree  College  and  ob- 
tained for  himself  an  excellent  education.  For 
thirty  years  Silas  Lillard  Bryan  was  an  honored 
member  of  the  Marion  County  bar.  He  served 


21 

eight  years  in  the  Illinois  State  Senate,  and  for 
twelve  years — from  1860  to  1872 — was  circuit 
judge.  Judge  Bryan  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention of  1870,  which  framed  the  present  State 
constitution  of  Illinois. 

Silas  Lillard  Bryan  married  Mariah  Elizabeth 
Jennings.  Israel  Jennings,  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut, the  founder  of  the  Jennings  family  in  Illinois, 
was  married  to  Mary  Warden,  in  Maysville,  Ken- 
tucky, in  1800.  In  1819,  he  removed,  with  his 
family,  to  Marion  County,  Illinois,  settling  near 
Walnut  Hill.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Illinois 
Legislature  in  1827.  The  union  of  Israel  and 
Mary  Jennings  was  blessed  with  five  children,  one 
of  whom,  Charles  W.  Jennings,  was  the  grand- 
father of  the  presidential  candidate.  Charles  W. 
Jennings  settled  near  his  parents'  home  and  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Mariah  Davidson.  Eight 
children  were  the  fruit  of  this  union.  One  of 
these  was  Mariah  E.,  the  mother  of  William  Jen- 
nings Bryan. 

Russell  Bryan,  the  youngest  brother  of  Judge 
Bryan,  located  in  Salem,  in  1841,  and  still  lives  in 
that  vicinity.  Elizabeth  Bryan,  Judge  Bryan's 
youngest  sister,  married  George  Baltzell,  and 
lives  at  Deer  Ridge,  Lewis  County,  Missouri. 

Zadoc  Jennings,  brother,  and  Mrs.  Harriett 
Marshall,  Mrs.  Nancy  Davenport  and  Mrs.  Docia 
Van  Antwerp,  sisters  of  Mrs.  Judge  Bryan,  still 
survive.  The  descendants  of  the  Jennings  and 


22 

Bryan  families  are  numerous,  and  they  have  con- 
tributed materially  to  good  government  and  the 
welfare  of  society  in  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Illinois, 
Ohio,  Arkansas  and  Missouri.  Nine  children 
were  born  to  Judge  and  Mrs.  Bryan.  Of  these,  five 
are  living.  Frances,  the  eldest  sister  of  the  pres- 
idential candidate  married  James  W.  Baird.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Baird  reside  at  Salem,  Illinois.  Two 
other  sisters,  Miss  Nanny  Bryan  and  Miss  Mary 
Bryan,  also  reside  at  Salem.  Charles  W.,  the 
only  brother  of  the  presidential  candidate,  is  a 
citizen  of  Omaha.  He  is  six  years  younger  than 
William,  and  was  married  four  years  ago  to  Miss 
Bessie  Brokaw.  Judge  Bryan,  the  father  of  the 
presidential  nominee,  died  March  30,  1880.  Mr. 
Bryan's  mother  died  three  weeks  prior  to  the 
Chicago  Convention. 

A  pathetic  feature  is  found  in  the  fact,  that  the 
mother  had  in  recent  years  believed  that  a  great 
future  awaited  her  distinguished  son,  and  whatever 
claims  may  be  made  and  established  concerning 
the  "original  Bryan  man,"  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion but  that  the  devoted  mother  of  the  presiden- 
tial candidate  was  the  original  Bryan  woman.  Bryan 
gets  his  even  temper  and  his  sunshine  from  his 
mother,  who  was  one  of  the  most  lovable  of 
women.  He  inherits  his  eloquence  and  his  courage 
from  his  father,  whose  platform  speeches  and 
whose  bravery  yet  live  in  the  memory  of  the 
people  of  Salem.  His  high  character  comes  from 


both  parents,  whose  careers  are  full  of  good 
deeds  and  whose  lives  are  those  of  consistent, 
earnest  Christians.  One  of  the  oldest  inhabitants 
of  Salem,  says:  "Judge  Bryan,  William  J. 
Bryan's  father,  had  one  weakness.  He  was  not 
content  with  family  prayers,  morning  and  night, 
but  he  prayed  at  noon  as  regularly  as  the  clock 
struck  twelve.  I  have  seen  him  adjourn  court 
before  twelve  o'clock  and  then  kneel  at  his  seat 
in  prayer.  I  saw  him  once  about  to  mount  his 
horse  in  the  public  square  ;  he  took  out  his  watch, 
observed  that  it  was  twelve  o'clock,  and  kneeled 
beside  his  horse  and  prayed.  Judge  Bryan  was  a 
very  devoted  man,  and  observed  what  he  consid- 
ered to  be  his  religious  duty,  as  strictly  as  he  did 
every  official  and  personal  duty. 

It  has  been  related  that  Judge  Bryan  had  the 
habit  of  opening  court  with  devotional  exercises, 
but  this  tale  is  without  foundation  other  than  as 
related  above.  But  Judge  Bryan  had  a  firm  reli- 
ance in  divine  guidance  and  inculcated  in  the 
breasts  of  his  children  the  same  supreme  faith  in 
the  Creator.  The  same  Christian  spirit  domi- 
nated the  life  of  Mrs.  Bryan,  mother  of  the  pres- 
idential candidate.  There  are  very  many  tender 
recollections  among  the  people  of  Marion  County 
of  the  practical  and  consistent  Christianity  prac- 
tised by  Judge  and  Mrs.  Bryan.  Their  purses 
and  their  energies  were  always  available  for  the 
advancement  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  their 


M 

store-houses  were  always  open  for  the  relief  of 
God's  poor. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  such  parents  as  these 
should  have  been  able  to  rear  up  a  son  whose  life 
is  modeled  after  their  own  good  careers,  and 
whose  public  services  are  dedicated  to  the  cause 
of  popular  government,  as  his  private  life  is  dedi- 
cated to  the  service  of  his  parents'  Master. 

It  is  related  of  Judge  Bryan  that  on  one  occa- 
sion his  poultry  house  was  broken  open  and  a 
large  number  of  prize  hens  were  stolen.  Certain 
indications  led  the  Judge  to  suspect  a  certain 
worthless  resident  of  the  neighborhood.  Several 
weeks  afterward  this  worthless  resident  met  the 
Judge  while  the  latter  was  on  his  way  to  court. 
"  Judge,"  said  the  worthless  resident,  "I  under- 
stand you  lost  some  chickens."  "  Sh  !  Sh  !  "  re- 
plied the  Judge,  as  he  placed  his  hand  upon  the 
shoulder  of  the  worthless  scamp,  "  don't  say  a 
word  about  it,  don't  say  a  word  about  it,  there  is 
only  three  people  that  know  anything  about  that, 
God,  yourself  and  myself,  and  I  don't  want  it  to 
get  out." 

When  William  Jennings  Bryan  was  six  years 
old,  his  parents  moved  to  a  farm  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  town  of  Salem.  Until  young  Bryan  was  ten 
years  of  age  his  parents  taught  him  at  home, 
hoping  to  mould  his  young  mind  to  better  advan- 
tage under  such  circumstances,  in  his  more  tender 
years.  At  the  age  of  ten,  young  Bryan  entered 


25 

the  public  school  of  Salem.  There  he  attended 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  when  in  the  fall 
of  1875  he  entered  Whipple  Academy,  Jackson- 
ville, Illinois.  Two  years  later,  in  1877,  he 
entered  Illinois  College  at  Jacksonville,  and  com- 
pleted a  classical  course,  being  graduated  in 
1 88 1,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  as  valedictorian 
and  class  orator. 

The  graduation  oration  of  William  J.  Bryan, 
with  valedictory  address,  delivered  at  Illinois 
College,  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  Thursday,  June  2, 
1 88  r,  was  as  follows  : 

"It  is  said  of  the  ermine  that  it  will  suffer  capt- 
ure rather  than  allow  pollution  to  touch  its  glossy 
coat,  but  take  away  that  coat  and  the  animal  is 
worthless. 

"We  have  ermines  in  higher  life — those  who 
love  display.  The  desire  to  seem,  rather  than  to 
be,  is  one  of  the  faults  which  our  age,  as  well  as 
other  ages,  must  deplore. 

"Appearance  too  often  takes  the  place  of 
reality — the  stamp  of  the  coin  is  there,  and  the 
glitter  of  the  gold,  but,  after  all,  it  is  but  a  worth- 
less wash.  Sham  is  carried  into  every  department 
of  life,  and  we  are  being  corrupted  by  show  and 
surface.  We  are  too  apt  to  judge  people  by 
what  they  have,  rather  than  by  what  they  are ; 
we  have  too  few  Hamlets  who  are  bold  enough 
to  proclaim,  '  I  know  not  seem ! ' 

"  The   counterfeit,  however,  only   proves   the 


26 

value  of  the  coin,  and,  although  reputation  may  in 
some  degree  be  taking  the  place  of  character, 
yet  the  latter  has  lost  none  of  its  worth,  and,  now, 
as  of  old,  is  a  priceless  gem,  wherever  found. 
Its  absence  and  presence,  alike,  prove  its  value. 
Have  you  not  conversed  with  those  whose  bril- 
liant wit,  pungent  sarcasm  and  well-framed 
sentences  failed  to  conceal  a  certain  indescribable 
something  which  made  you  distrust  every  word 
they  uttered?  Have  you  not  listened  to  those 
whose  eloquence  dazzled,  whose  pretended 
earnestness  enkindled  in  you  an  enthusiasm 
equal  to  their  own,  and  yet,  have  you  not  felt 
that  behind  all  this  there  was  lurking  a  monster 
that  repelled  the  admiration  which  their  genius 
attracted?  Are  there  not  those,  whom  like  the 
Greeks  we  fear,  even  when  they  are  bringing 
gifts  ?.  That  something  is  want  of  character,  or,  to 
speak  more  truly,  the  possession  of  bad  character, 
and  it  shows  itself  alike  in  nations  and  individuals. 
44  Eschines  was  talented :  his  oration  against  the 
crowning  of  Demosthenes  was  a  masterly  pro- 
duction, excellently  arranged,  elegantly  written 
and  effectively  delivered  ;  so  extraordinary  was  its 
merits,  that,  when  he  afterwards,  as  an  exile,  de- 
livered it  before  a  Roadian  audience,  they  ex- 
pressed their  astonishment  that  it  had  not  won  for 
him  his  cause,  but  it  fell  like  a  chilling  blast  upon 
his  hearers  at  Athens,  because  he  was  the  '  hire- 
ling of  Philip.' 


27 

"  Napoleon  swept  like  a  destroying  angel  over 
almost  the  entire  eastern  world,  evincing  a  military 
genius  unsurpassed,  skill  marvellous  in  its  perfec- 
tion, and  a  courage  which  savored  almost  of  rash- 
ness, yet  ever  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  its 
dictates.  For  a  while  he  seemed  to  have  robbed 
fortune  of  her  secret,  and  bewildered  nations 
gazed  in  silence  while  he  turned  the  streams  of 
success  according  to  his  vascillating  whims. 

"Although  endowed  with  a  perception  keen 
enough  to  discern  the  hidden  plans  of  opposing 
generals,  he  could  but  see  one  road  to  immortal- 
ity— a  path  which  led  through  battle-fields  and 
marshes  wet  with  human  gore ;  over  rivers  of 
blood  and  streams  of  tears  that  flowed  from 
orphans  eyes — a  path  along  whose  length  the 
widow's  wail  made  music  for  his  marching  hosts. 
But  he  is  fallen,  and  over  his  tomb  no  mourner 
weeps.  Talent,  genius,  power,  these  he  had — 
character,  he  had  none. 

"  But  there  are  those  who  have  both  influence 
through  life  and  unending  praises  after  death  ; 
there  are  those  who  have  by  their  ability,  inspired 
the  admiration  of  the  people  and  held  it  by  the 
purity  of  their  character.  It  is  often  remarked 
that  some  men  have  a  name  greater  than  their 
works  will  justify ;  the  secret  lies  in  the  men 
themselves. 

"  It  was  his  well-known  character,  not  less  than 
his  eloquent  words ;  his  deep  convictions,  not  less 


28 

than  the  fire  of  his  utterance ;  his  own  patriotism, 
not  less  than  his  invectives  against  the  Macedon- 
ian that  brought  to  the  lips  of  the  reanimated 
Greeks  that  memorable  sentence,  '  Let  us  go 
against  Philip.' 

"Perhaps  we  could  not  find  better  illustrations 
of  the  power  and  worth  of  character,  than  are 
presented  in  the  lives  of  two  of  our  own  country- 
men— names  about  which  cluster  in  most  sacred 
nearness  the  affections  of  the  American  people — 
honored  dust  over  which  have  fallen  the  truest 
tears  of  sorrow  ever  shed  by  a  nation  for  its  heroes 
— the  father  and  savior  of  their  common  country 
— the  one,  the  appointed  guardian  of  its  birth  ;  the 
other,  the  preserver  of  its  life. 

"  Both  were  reared  by  the  hand  of  Providence 
for  the  work  entrusted  to  their  care  ;  both  were 
led  by  nature  along  the  rugged  path  of  poverty ; 
both  formed  a  character  whose  foundations  were 
laid  broad  and  deep  in  the  purest  truths  of 
morality — a  character  which  stood  unshaken  amid 
the  terrors  of  war  and  the  tranquillity  of  peace  ; 
a  character  which  allowed  neither  cowardice  upon 
the  battle-field  nortyrannyin  the  presidential  chair. 
Thus  did  they  win  the  hearts  of  their  countrymen 
and  prepare  for  themselves  a  lasting  place  of  rest 
in  the  tender  memories  of  a  grateful  people. 

"History  but  voices  our  own  experience  when 
it  awards  to  true  nobility  of  character  the  highest 
place  among  the  enviable  possessions  of  man. 


29 

"  Nor  is  it  the  gift  of  fortune.  In  this,  at  least, 
we  are  not  creatures  of  circumstances:  talent, 
special  genius  may  be  the  gift  of  nature  ;  position 
in  society,  the  gift  of  birth ;  respect  may  be  bought 
with  wealth  ;  but  neither  one  nor  all  of  these  can 
give  character.  It  is  a  slow  but  sure  growth  to 
which  every  thought  and  action  lends  its  aid.  To 
form  character  is  to  form  grooves  in  which  are  to 
flow  the  purposes  of  our  lives.  It  is  to  adopt 
principles  which  are  to  be  the  measure  of  our 
actions,  the  criteria  of  our  deeds.  This  we  are 
doing  each  day,  either  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously ;  there  is  character  formed  by  our  associ- 
ation with  each  friend,  by  every  aspiration  of  the 
heart,  by  every  object  toward  which  our  affections 
go  out,  yea,  by  every  thought  that  flies  on  its 
lightning  wing  through  the  dark  recesses  of  the 
brain. 

"It  is  a  law  of  mind  that  it  acts  most  readily  in 
familiar  paths,  hence,  repetition  forms  habit,  and 
almost  before  we  are  aware,  we  are  chained  to  a 
certain  routine  of  action  from  which  it  is  difficult 
to  free  ourselves.  We  imitate  that  which  we 
admire.  If  we  revel  in  stories  of  blood,  and  are 
pleased  with  the  sight  of  barbaric  cruelty,  we  find 
it  easy  to  become  a  Caligula  or  a  Domitian  ;  we 
picture  to  ourselves  scenes  of  cruelty  in  which  we 
are  actors,  and  soon  await  only  the  opportunity 
to  vie  in  atrocity  with  the  Neroes  of  the  past. 

"If  we  delight  in  gossip,  and  are  not  content 


30 

unless  each  neighbor  is  laid  upon  the  dissecting 
table,  we  form  a  character  unenviable  indeed,  and 
must  be  willing  to  bear  the  contempt  of  all  the 
truly  good,  while  we  roll  oUr  bit  of  scandal  as  a 
sweet  morsel  under  the  tongue. 

"  But  if  each  day  we  gather  some  new  truths, 
plant  ourselves  more  firmly  upon  principles  which 
are  eternal,  guard  every  thought  and  action  that 
they  may  be  pure,  and  conform  our  lives  more 
nearly  to  that  Perfect  Model,  we  shall  form  a 
character  that  will  be  a  fit  background  on  which 
to  paint  the  noblest  deeds  and  grandest  intel- 
lectual and  moral  achievements ;  a  character  that 
cannot  be  concealed,  but  which  will  bring  success 
in  this  life  and  form  the  best  preparation  for  that 
which  is  beyond. 

"  The  formation  of  character  is  a  work  which 
continues  through  life,  but  at  no  time  is  it  so 
active  as  in  youth  and  early  manhood.  At  this 
time  impressions  are  most  easily  made,  and  mis- 
takes most  easily  corrected.  It  is  the  season  for 
the  sowing  of  the  seed ; — the  springtime  of  life. 
There  is  no  complaint  in  the  natural  world  because 
each  fruit  and  herb  brings  forth  after  its  kind ; 
there  is  no  complaint  if  a  neglected  seed-time 
brings  a  harvest  of  want;  there  is  no  cry  of  in- 
justice if  thistles  spring  from  thistle-seed  sown. 
As  little  reason  have  we  to  murmur  if  in  after-life 
we  discover  a  character  dwarfed  and  deformed 
by  the  evil  thoughts  and  actions  of  to-day;  as 


little  reason  have  we  to  impeach  the  wisdom  of 
God  if  our  wild  oats,  as  they  are  called  in  pal- 
liation, leave  scars  upon  our  manhood,  which  years 
of  reform  fail  to  wear  away. 

"  Character  is  the  entity,  the  individuality  of 
the  person,  shining  from  every  window  of  the 
soul,  either  as  a  beam  of  purity,  or  as  a  clouded 
ray  that  betrays  the  impurity  within.  The  contest 
between  light  and  darkness,  right  and  wrong, 
goes  on :  day  by  day,  hour  by  hour,  moment  by 
moment  our  characters  are  being  formed,  and 
this  is  the  all-important  question  which  comes  to 
us  in  accents  ever  growing  fainter  as  we  journey 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  '  Shall  those  charac- 
ters be  good  or  bad  ?  ' 

"Beloved  instructors,  it  is  character  not  less 
than  intellect  that  you  have  striven  to  develop. 
As  we  stand  at  the  end  of  our  college  course,  and 
turn  our  eyes  toward  the  scenes  forever  past — as 
our  memories  linger  on  the  words  of  wisdom 
which  have  fallen  from  your  lips,  we  are  more  and 
more  deeply  impressed  with  the  true  conception 
of  duty  which  you  have  ever  shown.  You  have 
sought,  not  to  trim  the  lamp  of  genius  until  the 
light  of  morality  is  paled  by  its  dazzling  brilliance, 
but  to  encourage  and  strengthen  both.  These 
days  are  over.  No  longer  shall  we  listen  to  your 
warning  voices,  no  more  meet  you  in  those  famil- 
liar  class-rooms,  yet  on  our  hearts  'deeply  has 
sunk  the  lesson '  you  have  '  given,  and  shall  not 
soon  depart.' 


32 

"We  thank  you  for  your  kind  and  watchful 
care,  and  shall  ever  cherish  your  teachings  with 
that  devotion  which  sincere  gratitude  inspires. 

"It  is  fitting  that  we  express  to  you  also,  hon- 
ored trustees,  our  gratitude  for  the  privileges 
which  you  have  permitted  us  to  enjoy. 

"  The  name  of  the  institution  whose  interests 
you  guard,  will  ever  be  dear  to  us  as  the  school- 
room, to  whose  influence  we  shall  trace  whatever 
success  coming  years  may  bring. 

"Dear  class-mates,  my  lips  refuse  to  bid  you  a  last 
good-bye;  we  have  so  long  been  joined  together  in 
a  community  of  aims  and  interests;  so  often  met 
and  mingled  our  thoughts  in  confidential  friend- 
ship ;  so  often  planned  and  worked  together,  that 
it  seems  like  rending  asunder  the  very  tissues  of 
the  heart  to  separate  us  now. 

"  But  this  long  and  happy  association  is  at  an 
end,  and  now  as  we  go  forth  in  sorrow,  as  each 
one  must,  to  begin  alone  the  work  which  lies  be- 
fore us,  let  us  encourage  each  other  with  strength- 
ening words. 

"Success  is  brought  by  continued  labor  and 
continued  watchfulness.  We  must  struggle  on, 
not  for  one  moment  hesitate,  nor  take  one  back- 
ward step  ;  for  in  the  language  of  the  poet — 

'The  gates  of  hell  are  open  night  and  day, 
Smooth  the  descent  and  easy  is  the  way ; 
But  to  return  and  riew  the  cheerful  skies, 
In  this,  the  task  and  mighty  labor  lies, ' 


33 

"  We  launch  our  vessels  upon  the  uncertain 
sea  of  life  alone,  yet,  not  alone,  for  around  us  are 
friends  who  anxiously  and  prayerfully  watch  our 
course.  They  will  rejoice  if  we  arrive  safely  at 
our  respective  havens,  or  weep  with  bitter  tears, 
if,  one  by  one,  our  weather-beaten  barks  are  lost 
forever  in  the  surges  of  the  deep. 

"We  have  esteemed  each  other,  loved  each 
other,  and  now  must  with  each  other  part.  God 
grant  that  we  may  all  so  live  as  to  meet  in  the 
better  world,  where  parting  is  unknown. 

"Halls  of  learning,  fond  Alma  Mater,  farewell. 
We  turn  to  take  one  '  last,  long,  lingering  look'  at 
thy  receding  walls.  We  leave  thee  now  to  be 
ushered  out  into  the  varied  duties  of  an  active  life. 

"However  high  our  names  may  be  inscribed 
upon  the  gilded  scroll  of  fame,  to  thee  we  all  the 
honor  give,  to  thee  all  praises  bring.  And  when, 
in  after  years,  we're  wearied  by  the  bustle  of  a 
busy  world,  our  hearts  will  often  long  to  turn  and 
seek  repose  beneath  thy  sheltering  shade." 

During  his  six  years  at  Jacksonville,  young 
Bryan  made  his  home  with  a  relative,  Dr.  H.  K. 
Jones,  a  man  of  profound  learning  and  high 
character.  Mr.  Bryan  never  loses  an  opportu- 
nity to  express  his  gratitude  for  the  good 
fortune  which  led  him  into  the  Jones  family,  and 
placed  him  under  the  influence  of  the  learned 
doctor  and  his  noble  wife. 

In  the  fall  of  1881,   young  Bryan  entered  the 


34 

Union  College  of  Law,  at  Chicago.  During  his 
attendance  at  this  school  his  spare  time  was  em- 
ployed in  the  law  office  of  the  late  Lyman  Trum- 
bull.  Mr.  Trumbull  had  an  extensive  library,  and 
as  he  had  taken  quite  a  fancy  to  the  young  student, 
Mr.  Trumbull  gave  him  every  possible  advan- 
tage. 

Mr.  Bryan's  expenses  through  law  school,  as 
well  as  through  college,  were  defrayed  by  his 
parents.  His  independent  spirit,  however,  would 
not  permit  all  of  the  load  to  rest  upon  his  family, 
and  he  scrubbed  the  floors  of  the  Trumbull  law 
office,  cleaned  windows  and  performed  other  lit- 
tle services  during  his  spare  moments  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  odd  wages  and  thus  lessen 
his  demands  upon  the  family  fund.  Newspapers 
have  been  full  of  stories  intending  to  show  that 
Mr.  Bryan  worked  his  way  through  college  and 
law  school  entirely  by  his  own  efforts,  paying  his 
expenses  by  dint  of  hard  work.  It  is  true  that 
Mr.  Bryan's  education  was  not  obtained  with  ease, 
and  it  is  also  true  that  he  lost  no  opportunity  to 
lighten  the  burden  his  good  father  had  assumed 
in  his  behalf,  but  it  is  no  less  true  that  Mr.  Bryan 
owes  his  education  largely  to  his  parents,  who 
lost  no  opportunity  to  push  their  son  to  the  front 
and  to  give  to  that  son  every  possible  advantage 
whereby  his  splendid  manhood  could  be  devel- 
oped. No  man  was  ever  blessed  with  parents 
more  devoted  or  more  self-sacrificing  in  their 


HOME  OF  HON.   W.  J.   BRYAN,  AT  LINCOLN,  NEB. 


37 

children's  interests,  and  no  parents  ever  reared  a 
son  more  worthy  of  filial  devotion  than  is  William 
Jennings  Bryan. 

Mr.  Bryan  remained  at  Union  College  for  two 
years,  graduating  there  in  June,  1883.  Relocated 
at  Jacksonville,  July  4,  1883,  and  swung  this 
shingle  to  the  breeze : 


W.  J.  BRYAN, 

LAWYER. 


Mr.  Bryan  was  married  October  i,  1884,  to 
Miss  Mary  Baird,  of  Perry,  111.  The  young  law- 
yer very  soon  built  up  a  paying  practice  and  he 
remained  at  Jacksonville  until  1887,  when,  with 
his  young  wife  and  child,  he  removed  to  Ne- 
braska. 

Young  Bryan  early  manifested  a  love  for  pol- 
itics. In  1880,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he 
took  the  stump  for  Hancock,  and  delivered  Dem- 
'ocratic  speeches  at  Salem,  Centralia  and  two 
other  points  in  Illinois.  In  the  campaign  of  1884 
young  Bryan,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  took  the 
stump  for  Grover  Cleveland.  Mr.  Bryan's  first 
political  speech  was  delivered  in  1880,  at  the 
court  house  in  Salem.  But  there  is  an  interesting 
story  about  the  first  political  speech  that  he  did 
not  deliver.  Several  weeks  before  the  Salem 
speech  young  Bryan  was  working  on  the  farm  of 


N.  B.  Morrison,  of  Odin,  Illinois.  A  political 
meeting  was  arranged  for  a  grove  several  miles 
away.  Hand-bills  were  distributed,  announcing 
that  two  distinguished  men,  giving  their  names, 
and  "  Mr.  W.  J.  Bryan "  would  address  the 
"gathered  hosts."  When  the  day  came  young 
Bryan  and  the  distinguished  orators  drove  to  the 
grove.  When  they  arrived  they  found  a  man  in 
charge  of  the  grove,  one  man  with  a  wheel  of  fort- 
une, and  two  men  presiding  over  a  lemonade 
stand.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  children 
from  the  neighborhood  that  was  the  extent  of  the 
"  gathered  hosts."  The  orators  waited  until  late 
in  the  evening  and  no  one  came  to  hear  them. 
Young  Bryan  returned  home,  possibly  greatly 
disappointed,  but  he  was  rewarded  within  a  few 
weeks  by  being  able  to  deliver  that  speech  before 
a  great  gathering  at  Salem. 

Bryan's  boyhood  is  without  sensational  features. 
If  he  ever  robbed  a  melon  patch,  it  is  not  a  mat- 
ter of  record.  If  he  was  ever  guilty  of  mischiev- 
ous pranks,  no  one  recalls  the  fact.  He  was  a 
light-hearted,  good-natured  lad,  who,  in  his  more 
tender  years,  devoted  himself  to  two  things : 
hard  physical  work,  and  earnest,  persistent  duty. 

Bryan's  splendid  physical  development,  is  due  to 
his  out  of  door  exercise,  and  work  on  the  farm  dur- 
ing his  boyhood.  His  first  employer  was  John 
Odin,  and  in  the  days  of  his  youth,  John  W.  Pat- 
rick, now  a  railroad  freight  clerk,  at  Cincinnati, 


39 

finds  considerable  pride  in  the  fact,  that  he  was 
the  second  employer  of  William  Jennings  Bryan. 
Mr.  Patrick  several  years  ago  lived  in  Salem,  111. 
He  was  a  neighbor  of  the  Bryan's,  and  at  one 
time  purchased  a  field  of  hay  from  the  elder 
Bryan.  While  the  harvesting  was  in  progress, 
young  Bryan  was  employed  by  Mr.  Patrick,  to 
carry  water  to  the  farm  hands. 

Professor  S.  S.  Hamill,  of  Decatur,  Illinois,  is 
the  teacher  under  whom  young  Bryan  studied 
elocution,  while  attending  Illinois  College  at 
Jacksonville.  Speaking  of  his  pupil  recently, 
Professor  Hamill  said  :  "  He  was  a  good  student, 
and  stood  first  in  all  his  studies,  but  he  was  an 
awkward  speaker.  I  had  many  pupils,  but  few 
that  made  the  lasting  impression  on  me  that 
Bryan  did.  That  was  because  of  his  intentness 
and  earnestness  in  that  particular  study.  There 
were  not  many  who  studied  elocution  long,  but 
with  Bryan,  that  seemed  to  be  the  one  thing  in 
which  he  desired  to  excel.  He  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  instruction  in  the  class,  but  took  a  term 
in  private,  for  which  he  paid  me  twenty  dollars. 
While  others  were  trying  to  beg  off  the  pro- 
grammes of  literary  societies  for  orations,  he  took 
extra  assignments  and  worked  on  all  of  them  with 
the  greatest  earnestness.  He  made  political 
speeches  about  Jacksonville  in  the  following  cam- 
paign, and  made  some  reputation  for  himself. 
After  that,  he  was  often  selected  to  represent  the 


40 

colleges  in  oratorical  contests,  and  won  honors 
for  both  the  college  and  himself  in  them.  I  have 
rarely  had  a  more  determined  or  brilliant  student. 
I  recognized  him  then  as  a  bright  scholar,  who 
was  bound  to  make  his  mark,  by  reason  of  the 
determination  with  which  he  went  at  all  he  did." 
Mrs.  A.  V.  Beville,  of  St.  Louis,  was  a  Sabbath- 
school  teacher  of  young  Bryan.  Concerning  her 
pupil,  Mrs.  Beville  recently  said  :  "  He  attended 
my  Sunday-school  class  for  years  and  was  a  fre- 
quent visitor  at  our  house.  Mr.  Bryan  has  never 
missed  writing  to  me  of  his  doings  and  of  his 
progress.  He  is  still  to  me  one  of  my  boys.  He 
was  a  great  favorite  with  all  who  knew  him.  He 
was  always  full  of  fun  and  dearly  loved  a  joke. 
He  could  tell  a  capital  story,  and  was  moderately 
fond  of  out-door  sports.  Although  he  came  to 
Sunday-school  regularly,  he  was  not  by  any  means 
a  meek  boy.  He  was  full  of  spirits  and  seemed 
to  have  a  natural  fund  of  goodness  in  him.  He 
was  always  fond  of  reading.  He  was  a  good 
student  as  you  can  tell  when  reading  of  his  record 
in  college.  However,  his  great  application  to  his 
books  did  not  render  him  either  unhealthy  or 
morbid.  He  was  one  of  the  heartiest,  most 
wholesome  of  boys  and  the  apparent  contradiction 
of  his  studious  bent  and  his  jolly  nature  endeared 
him  doubly  to  me.  He  was  a  very  considerate 
fellow.  I  remember  once  when  I  was  sick  in 
bed  and  he  and  three  other  of  my  scholars 


came  to  see  me.  They  were  told  that  they 
could  not  see  me,  but  I  heard  their  voices, 
and  called  down  to  say  they  might  come 
up  if  they  did  not  stay  long  and  did  not  do 
any  talking.  They  came  and  gazed  at  me  as 
though  I  was  a  dead  person.  William  overcame 
the  situation  by  approaching  the  bed  and  asking 
in  a  deep  voice,  '  Are  you  better?  '  The  simple 
question  was  very  characteristic  of  him,  and  after 
I  had  assured  him  that  I  was  better,  he  went 
away  satisfied.  One  thing  about  Mr.  Bryan  I 
think  has,  in  a  great  measure,  contributed  to  his  suc- 
cess. He  was  always  willing  to  listen  to  advice. 
He  used  to  give  the  most  careful  attention  to 
what  others  said.  Even  as  a  little  boy  this  trait 
was  very  marked.  From  his  earliest  childhood 
he  has  been  the  soul  of  honor,  honesty  and  truth. 
I  never  heard  of  any  unkind  or  unfair  action  of 
his.  His  life  seemed  to  have  been  cut  from  very 
pure  material.  He  inherits  much  of  this  rectitude 
and  beauty  of  character  from  his  father,  Judge 
Bryan,  who  was  noted  for  his  piety  and  goodness. 
William  had  set  his  heart  on  going  to  Oxford. 
His  father.also,  who  always  took  an  active  interest 
in  the  boy's  education,  had  likewise  determined 
that  his  son  should  attend  the  great  English  Uni- 
versity when  he  finished  his  college  course  here. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  a  settled  fact,  but  Judge 
Bryan's  death  changed  everything,  and  William, 
without  a  moment's  hesitation,  gave  up  all 


42 

thoughts  of  Oxford  because  the  family  could  not 
spare  the  money.  William  never  went  to  Oxford; 
so  the  credit  of  his  cultivated  intellect  must  re- 
main on  this  side  of  the  water.  His  oratorical 
powers  are  the  result  of  his  careful  study  of 
human  nature.  In  his  numerous  letters  to  me  he 
mentions  getting  ready  for  his  examination  days, 
the  orations  he  had  to  study  and  all  that. 

"Whether  speaking  came  naturally  to  him  when 
he  jumped  into  manhood,  I  cannot  say,  but  I  am 
sure  he  never  would  have  succeeded  in  the  way 
he  has  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  untiring  energy. 
He  has  not  a  lazy  bone  in  his  body,  and  he  seems 
to  be  a  stranger  to  fatigue.  When  we  moved 
to  St.  Louis,  William  always  stopped  a  day  with 
us  on  his  way  home  from  the  college  at  Jackson- 
ville, and,  I  remember,  we  were  reminding  him 
one  day  of  the  agreement  made  between  the 
Sunday-school  boys  to  read  the  Bible  through 
during  the  year.  He  replied  that  he  had  not  for- 
gotten, and  that  he  and  some  of  the  fellows  at 
college  had  agreed  to  read  the  Book  of  Proverbs 
through  once  a  month  for  a  year.  He  must  have 
kept  the  agreement  very  well,  for  I  don't  know 
anyone  fuller  of  proverbs  than  Mr.  Bryan.  He 
is  also  full  of  jokes  and  stories,  and  never  seems 
to  lack  matter  for  conversation.  Judge  and  Mrs. 
Bryan  were  Baptists,  but  William  belonged  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  He  is  a  religious  man, 
and  a  moral  man  in  every  sense  of  the  term,  and 


43 

while  attending  church  with  punctilious  regularity, 
he  never  offends  people  with  a  parade  of  piety. 
The  combination  of  natural  goodness,  wit,  good 
humor  and  eloquence,  topped  by  his  cultivated 
and  commanding  intellect,  render  Mr.  Bryan  to- 
day the  most  remarkable  man  of  my  acquaintance. 
I  remember,  I  told  him  one  day  that,  when  the 
capital  was  moved  to  St.  Louis,  when  he  was 
nominated  for  president,  and  when  women  could 
vote,  I  would  be  perfectly  happy.  He  replied, 
with  his  charming  and  quizzical  smile:  '  Ah,  you 
are  looking  far  into  the  future.'  While  never 
indulging  in  extravagant  apparel,  Mr.  Bryan  was, 
nevertheless,  always  very  carefully  dressed.  As 
a  boy,  he  was  neat,  and  paid  careful  attention  to 
his  linen  and  cravats.  He  was  fond  of  society, 
and  found  time  to  indulge  in  social  frolics  with  his 
many  less  studious  friends.  In  short,  you  will 
see  that  Mr.  Bryan's  success  is  the  result  of 
application,  earnest  endeavor,  and  high  resolves. 
He  was  reared  upon  a  sure  foundation.  He  had 
health  to  begin  the  race  with,  and  intellect  to 
enable  him  to  forge  ahead.  The  present  glorious 
culmination  of  his  career  should  be  a  shining  ex- 
ample to  all  men.  Mr.  Bryan's  life  has  not  been 
marred  or  blotted  by  any.  vice.  He  is  not  addicted 
to  the  use  of  any  stimulants,  such  as  liquor  or 
tobacco.  His  manners  are  easy  and  graceful  in 
the  extreme,  and  with  his  ringing  voice  and 
sparkling  eyes,  he  represents  a  magnificent  speci- 
men of  manhood." 


44 

In  closing  her  glowing  description  of  Mr. 
Bryan,  Mrs.  Beville  said:  "I  am  not  saying  all 
this  simply  because  I  am  fond  of  him,  but  because 
it  is  the  conviction  of  all  who  know  him.  You 
can't  say  anything  too  good  for  William  J.  Bryan  ; 
and,  oh,  I  hope  he  will  be  elected  !  " 

This  is  the  story  of  "Bryan's  early  life." 
There  is  to  this  portion  of  his  career  no  romance, 
and  little  of  more  than  ordinary  interest.  The 
greatest  interest  will,  however,  attach  to  his  sub- 
sequent career,  which  has  been  remarkable  in 
many  respects. 


CHAPTER  II. 
BRYAN'S  POWER  OVER  MEN. 

When  William  J.  Bryan  was  nominated  to  be 
President  of  the  United  States  by  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  at  Chicago,  his  political  op- 
ponents and  newspapers  whose  editors  were  not 
in  sympathy  with  the  principles  he  has  so  gallantly 
represented  confidently  declared  that  his  nomina- 
tion was  due  entirely  to  his  admirable  speech  upon 
that  occasion.  Many  people  who  are  not  familiar 
with  Mr.  Bryan's  remarkable  record  readily  ac- 
cepted this  idea  as  a  fact.  It  is  true,  however,  that 
Mr.  Bryan  had  already  established  a  national  rep- 
utation among  the  champions  of  bimetallism  as  an 
able  advocate  of  the  restoration  of  the  coinage  of 

o 

the  Constitution.     When  the  Chicago  Convention 

o 

assembled,   there   were    hundreds    of    delegates 

o 

present  who  had  closely  watched  Mr.  Bryan's  ca- 
reer, who  had  either  read  or  heard  delivered 
many  of  his  splendid  speeches  upon  the  money 
question  and  who  had  learned  that  this  young 
man  had  fought  the  battles  of  free  coinage  when 
his  followers  were  few  and  weak  and  his  op- 
ponents numerous  and  strong.  They  knew 
that  his  private  character,  no  less  than  his  pub- 
lic record,  was  entirely  creditable.  They  knew 

(45) 


46 

that  he  was  a  man  conscientiously  committed  to 
the  principles  he  had  espoused.  It  is  perhaps 
true  that  his  splendid  speech  before  that  Conven- 
tion turned  the  tide  immediately  in  his  favor,  but 
it  is  no  less  true  that  the  tide  had  already  set  in 
that  direction  among  the  people  who  were  repre- 
sented by  the  delegates  to  that  Convention.  The 
unprecedented  public  demonstrations  which  have 
been  accorded  Mr.  Bryan  since  his  nomination 
show  that  upon  the  hearthstones  of  the  people 
the  fires  of  enthusiasm  in  his  behalf  had  been 
kindled  by  the  grateful  men  and  women  v/ho  had 
carefully  observed  his  career. 

It  is  true  that  William  J.  Bryan  is  a  great 
orator,  perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  this  country 
has  ever  produced,  but  had  he  been  only  an 
orator,  he  would  not  occupy  his  present  distin- 
guised  position.  Behind  the  orator  is  the  man, 
firm  in  his  adherence  to  principle,  devoted  in  his 
observation  of  the  rules  which  guide  the  good 
citizen  in  private  life.  The  mighty  demonstration 
at  Chicago  which  was  produced  by  Mr.  Bryan's 
speech  was  a  strange  sight  to  the  world.  But 
the  people  of  Nebraska  during  the  last  eight  years 
have  often  seen  the  same  public  demonstration, 
on  a  smaller  scale  it  is  true,  but  no  less  intense  in 
character. 

In  1888,  on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Bryan's  first 
public  appearance  in  Nebraska,  he  drew  men  to 
him  by  the  power  of  the  orator,  and  held  them 


47 

there  in  subsequent  years  by  the  virtues  of  the 
man.  Since  that  time  he  has  undergone,  as  a 
public  speaker,  a  steady  course  of  improvement. 
It  has  been  the  privilege  of  the  writer  to  hear 
every  important  political  speech  made  by  Mr. 
Bryan  in  Nebraska,  and  including  his  Congres- 
sional efforts,  and  to  this  writer  perhaps  this  im- 
provement has  been  more  noticeable  than  to  any 
other  of  Mr.  Bryan's  auditors.  As  a  newspaper 
correspondent  the  writer  has  witnessed  Mr. 
Bryan's  joint  debates  and  observed  his  complete 
triumphs  over  his  opponents  and  his  complete 
capture  of  the  hearts  of  his  auditors. 

Bryan's  power  overmen  was  well  demonstrated 
in  Nebraska,  before  the  Chicago  Convention  was 
called  to  order. 

In  1890,  when  he  accepted  the  nomination  to 
Congress  in  the  First  Nebraska  District,  he  led 
what  seemed  to  be  a  forlorn  hope  against  what 
appeared  to  be  an  invincible  foe.  But  Bryan 
triumphed.  He  beat  down  an  overwhelming  op- 
position majority,  because  of  his  power  over  men. 

Two  years  later,  when  his  district  had  been  re- 
arranged, with  a  special  view  to  his  certain  defeat, 
and  when  money  in  unlimited  sums  was  distributed 
against  him,  Bryan  won  because  of  his  power 
over  men. 

In  1894,  when  he  fought  at  the  head  of  the  loyal 
Silver  Democrats  of  Nebraska  in  the  effort  to 
wrest  the  temple  of  Democracy  of  that  State  from 


48 

undemocratic  hands,  Bryan  won  because  of  his 
power  over  him. 

In  1896,  when  he  went  to  Chicago  at  the  head 
of  a  delegation  whose  seat  was  contested,  without 
right  or  reason  it  is  true,  but  contested,  never- 
theless, when  few  men  had  any  idea  that  Bryan 
would  be  the  nominee  of  that  Convention,  Bryan 
was  nominated  because  of  his  power  over  men. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  this  power  is  par- 
tially due  to  Bryan  the  orator,  but  the  greater 
part  of  it  is  due  to  Bryan  the  man.  The  ability 
to  meet  and  conquer  the  ablest  of  those  who  deny 
the  correctness  of  his  political  principles  is  cer- 
tainly a  valuable  talent.  But  the  fact  that  the 
man  who  is  able  to  draw  men  to  him  by  the  power 
of  oratory  is  able  to  retain  friendship  or  admira- 
tion by  his  undeviating  traits  of  character  is  the 
greatest  power  that  any  man  may  possess.  Bryan 
does  that.  He  has  done  that  in  the  city  of  Lin- 
coln, his  home.  He  has  done  that  throughout  the 
State  of  Nebraska.  He  has  done  that  in  the  halls 
of  Congress,  where  men  are  not  readily  influenced. 
He  has  done  that  among  the  trained  newspaper 
men  of  the  country,  men  whose  keen  eyes  readily 
detect  hypocrisy  or  insincerity.  He  has  done  that 
throughout  the  States  of  the  Union,  wherever  he 
has  made  himself  known,  and  he  will  do  that  in 
national  life  if  the  people  triumph  in  November. 

This  estimate  is  placed  upon  Mr.  Bryan's  char- 
acter by  one  who  has  met  him  and  associated  with 


49 

him  under  various  circumstances  and  conditions. 
When  it  is  said  that  he  is  a  gentle,  manly  man,  it 
is  not  with  the  purpose 'of  flattery,  but  with  the 
desire  to  state  an  absolute  fact.  As  a  man  he 
would  not  do  his  humblest  nor  his  greatest  fellow- 
man  an  injury  or  an  injustice.  As  a  lawyer  he 
would  never  knowingly  plead  a  dishonest  cause. 
As  an  editor  he  would  never  knowingly  advocate 
a  dishonest  or  an  unpatriotic  idea.  As  a  member 
of  Congress  he  would  not  cast  his  vote  upon  any 
proposition,  great  or  small,  against  what  he  re- 
garded the  interest  of  the  people  whom  he  was 
elected  to  serve.  As  President  of  the  United 
States  he  would  be  the  people's  executive,  the 
cleanest,  the  best  and  the  bravest  since  the  days 
of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  Mr.  Bryan's 
public  career  is  the  consistency  of  his  political 
principles.  There  is  nothing  that  he  represents 
now  that  he  has  not  represented  in  all  of  his  pub- 
lic life.  Every  platform  upon  which  he  has  ac- 
cepted a  nomination  for  office  provided  that  no 
caucus  dictation  should  be  permitted  by  a  repre- 
sentative in  Congress  to  interfere  with  his  consci- 
entious representation  of  his  constituents. 

No  one  wondered,  when  his  party  colleagues  in 
the  House  determined  to  unseat  a  Republican, 
that  Mr.  Bryan  refused  to  cast  his  vote  in  accord 
with  that  decision.  He  said  to  the  House  that  he 
had  investigated  the  circumstances  and  he  be- 


50 

lieved  the  Republican  was  entitled  to  his  seat  and 
therefore  proposed  to  vote  for  him,  and  his  vote 
was  recorded  that  way. 

Every  platform  upon  which  he  has  accepted 
a  nomination  for  office  has  protested  against  the 
giving  of  subsidies  of  any  kind  from  the  public 
treasury.  He  has  maintained  the  integrity  of  that 
plank  at  every  opportunity.  The  beet  sugar  in- 
terests have  been  an  important  political  factor  in 
Nebraska,  but  in  the  State  Legislature,  in  1891, 
when  the  State  bounty  on  beet  sugar  was  to  be 
repealed,  and  a  strong  lobby  was  operating  against 
the  proposed  repeal,  Mr.  Bryan  visited  the  Legis- 
lature in  person  and  gave  to  the  Democrats  and 
Populists  of  that  body  his  good  advice  and  vigor- 
ous encouragement.  The  result  was  that  the 
bounty  was  repealed,  only  to  be  replaced  by  a 
subsequent  Republican  Legislature. 

Mr.  Bryan's  platforms  have  favored  an  income 
tax,  and  his  splendid  fight  in  behalf  of  that  meas- 
ure is  a  matter  of  history. 

Mr.  Bryan's  platforms  advocated  the  election 
of  Senators  by  the  people,  and  he  used  his  best 
efforts  in  Congress  to  carry  that  plank  into  execu- 
tion. 

Some  people  were  surprised  when  immediately 
following  the  Chicago  Convention  Mr.  Bryan  an- 
nounced that,  if  elected  to  be  President,  he  would 
under  no  circumstances  accept  a  second  term,  on 
the  ground  that  a  President  should  be  free  from 


possible  motive  to  work  for  renomination,  and 
thus  be  able  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  high 
office  for  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  num- 
ber. But  when  we  look  back  over  Mr.  Bryan's 
political  history  in  Nebraska,  we  find  that  in  two 
of  his  platforms  almost  the  identical  words  used 
in  this  announcement  are  embodied  in  the  planks 
of  those  platforms. 

Bryan's  political  platforms  have  advocated  rigid 
economy  in  public  expenditures,  and  his  record  in 
Congress  shows  that  he  has  lost  no  opportunity 
to  carry  that  principle  into  execution. 

Bryan's  home  life  is  that  of  the  ideal  American. 
He  is  the  companion  of  his  wife  and  children  as 
well  as  the  devoted  husband  and  father. 

Bryan's  public  interest  in  the  people  who  suffer 
under  heavy  public  burdens  is  not  assumed.  It 
is  characteristic  of  the  man  who  has  a  tender 
sympathy  for  every  personal  woe.  Having  no 
vices,  he  is  not  extravagant  in  his  public  expendi- 
tures, while  he  is  methodical  in  his  personal  affairs, 
and  jealously  provides  that  his  expenditures  shall 
never  exceed  his  income.  At  the  same  time  he 
has  a  warm,  generous  heart  and  his  limited  purse 
has,  only  too  often,  been  at  the  disposal  of  those 
in  distress. 

One  of  Mr.  Bryan's  most  striking  characteristics 
is  his  mildness.  It  may  be  difficult  for  those  who 
have  seen  him  on  the  platform,  hurling  defiance 
eloquently  at  the  enemies  of  popular  government, 


52 

to  imagine  that  this  is  a  man  who  was  never  known 
to  lose  his  temper.  He  is  temperate  in  all  things. 
He  is  open  to  reason  and  is  entirely  considerate 
of  the  opinions  of  others.  He  is  true  to  his  friends 
and  no  man  would  go  further  than  he  to  accom- 
modate a  worthy  acquaintance. 

Because  Mr.  Bryan  is  a  brilliant  leader  of  men, 
it  has  in  some  quarters  been  assumed  that  he  is 
hasty  and  unstable,  if  not  erratic.  Nothing  could 
be  further  from  the  truth.  His  whole  private  life 
and  his  entire  public  career  prove  that  Mr.  Bryan 
is  as  deliberate  as  a  philosopher  in  forming  his 
opinions  and  that  he  is  firm  as  rock  in  standing 
by  his  convictions. 

Few  men  at  fifty  are  as  mature  in  judgment 
as  Mr.  Bryan  is  at  thirty-six.  Few  men  at  fifty 
have  devoted  so  much  time  to  the  arduous  study 
of  the  science  of  Government  as  Bryan  has  at 
thirty-six.  Pitt  was  prime  minister  of  England 
before  he  was  thirty ;  Napolean  was  crowned 
Emperor  of  France  at  thirty-five ;  Alexander 
Hamilton  had  attained  world-wide  fame  as  a  states- 
man at  thirty-three ;  Thomas  Jefferson  wrote  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  before  he  became 
thirty-four.  Time  will  show  that  Mr.  Bryan  is  en- 
titled to  rank  among  these  extraordinary  men,  not 
simply  as  a  brilliant  leader,  but  also  as  a  profound 
student.  His  powers  as  an  orator  are  naturally 
the  first  to  secure  public  recognition,  but  it  is  his 
intellectual  force  and  firmness  of  character  which 


HON.  W.  J.  BRYAX,  AT  AGE  OF  30. 

When  he  was  first  elected  to  Congress.    Picture  taken  at  close  of  a  joint  debate  when  he  was 
presented  with  floral  pieces  shown. 


llox.  B.  K.  TILLMAN, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  South  Carolina. 


55 

will  in  the  end  win  for  him  the  lasting  glory  which 
is  accorded  to  men  truly  great.  He  has  all  of 
Jefferson's  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  people, 
and  all  of  Jackson's  courage  in  defending  them. 
These  two  statesmen  are  his  models,  and  in  him 
they  may  almost  be  said  to  live  again. 

One  of  the  tender  features  of  Mr.  Bryan's 
private  life  is  his  associations  with  the  boys'  class 
in  the  Presbyterian  Sunday  School  in  Lincoln. 
For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Bryan  has  been  the 
teacher  of  this  class,  and  the  depth  of  the  affec- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  pupils  to  their  distinguished 
teacher  could  not  but  be  gratifying  to  any  one 
upon  whom  that  affection  was  bestowed. 

On  the  Sabbath  following  Mr.  Bryan's  nomina- 
tion the  Rev.  W.  K.  Williams,  clergyman  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  filled  the  pulpit  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  which  Mr.  Bryan  is  a  member. 

In  the  course  of  his  sermon  Mr.  Williams  said: 
"We  are  told  in  the  twenty-sixth  verse,  twelfth 
chapter,  of  First  Corinthians,  that  if  one  member 
suffers,  all  the  members  suffer  with  it,  and  that 
if  one  member  is  honored,  all  the  members 
rejoice.  One  of  your  members  has  been  highly 
honored  by  the  people;  he  has  been  honored  by 
God,  and  I  rejoice  that  a  fellow-citizen  and  a 
member  in  Christ  has  been  thus  highly  honored. 
I  also  rejoice  in  the  purity  of  his  life,  in  the 
nobility  of  his  thought,  in  the  vigor  of  his  young 
manhood,  in  the  majesty  and  grandeur  of  his  im- 
4 


56 

passioned  eloquence,  and  in  the  fearless  manner 
in  which  he  proclaims  to  the  world  the  principles 
that  lie  deep  within  his  heart.  I  shall  continue  to 
pray  that  God  will  keep  him  pure  and  make  him 
a  yet  mightier  force  for  good  in  this  nation,  and 
that  Christ  shall  be  his  leader  always." 

In  writing  of  Mr.  Bryan,  Hon.  Champ  Clark,  of 
'Missouri,  gave  this  admirable  description  of  him: 

"Bryan  is  a  collegiate,  and  has  stowed  away  in 
his  capacious  cranium  much  of  the  golden  grain 
of  wisdom  and  little  of  the  husks,  and  it  is  all 
there  for  use,  either  as  argument  or  embellish- 
ment. Some  men  are  so  ugly  and  ungainly  that 
it  is  a  positive  disadvantage  to  them  as  public 
speakers.  Some  are  so  handsome  and  graceful 
that  they  are  on  good  terms  with  the  audience 
before  they  open  their  lips.  Of  the  latter  class 
Bryan  is  a  shining  example.  His  appearance  is  a 
passport  to  the  affections  of  his  fellow-men  which 
all  can  read.  He  is  the  picture  of  health,  mental, 
moral  and  physical.  He  stands  about  5  feet  10, 
weighs  about  170,  is  a  pronounced  brunette,  has  a 
massive  head,  a  clean-shaven  face,  an  aquiline 
nose,  large  under  jaw,  square  chin,  a  broad  chest, 
large,  lustrous  dark  eyes,  mouth  extending  almost 
from  ear  to  ear,  teeth  white  as  pearls,  and  hair — 
what  there  is  left  of  it — black  as  midnight. 
Beneath  his  eyes  is  the  protuberant  flesh  which 
physiognomists  tell  us  is  indicative  of  fluency  of 


57 

language  and  which  was  one  of  the  most  striking 
features  in  the  face  of  James  G.  Elaine. 

"  Bryan  neglects  none  of  the  accessories  of  ora- 
tory. Nature  richly  endowed  him  with  rare 
grace.  He  is  happy  in  attitude  and  pose.  His 
gestures  are  on  Hogarth's  line  of  beauty.  Mel- 
lifluous is  the  one  word  that  aptly  describes  his 
voice.  It  is  strong  enough  to  be  heard  by  thou- 
sands. It  is  sweet  enough  to  charm  those  the 
least  inclined  to  music.  It  is  so  modulated  as  not 
to  vex  the  ear  with  monotony  and  can  be  stern 
and  pathetic,  fierce  or  gentle,  serious  or  humor- 
ous, with  the  varying  emotions  of  its  master.  In 
his  youth  Bryan  must  have  had  a  skilful  teacher 
in  elocution  and  must  have  been  a  docile  pupil. 
He  adorns  his  speeches  with  illustrations  from  the 
classics  or  from  the  common  occurrences  of 
everyday  life  with  equal  felicity  and  facility. 
Some  passages  from  his  orations  are  gems  and 
are  being  used  as  declamations  by  boys  at  school 
— the  ultimate  tribute  to  American  eloquence. 

"  But  his  crowning  gift  as  an  orator  is  his  evi- 
dent sincerity.  He  is  candor  incarnate,  and, 
thoroughly  believing  what  he  says  himself,  it  is 
no  marvel  that  he  makes  others  believe." 

One  of  the  closest  friends  of  Mr.  Bryan  in  Lin- 
coln, who  is  himself  a  lawyer,  relates  an  incident 
which  occurred  several  years  after  the  arrival  of 
Bryan  in  Nebraska.  This  was  in  1890,  when  the 
young  men  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  First 


58 

Nebraska  Congressional  district  were  urging  Mr. 
Bryan  to  make  the  race  for  Congress.  Without 
money  and  comparatively  a  new  man  in  the  State, 
it  did  not  seem  to  his  more  cautious  friends  that 
there  was  much  chance  of  his  success  in  a  district 
which  had  gone  Republican  two  years  before  by 
a  majority  of  3400.  The  Republican  member, 
W.  J.  Connell,  was  a  candidate  for  re-election  and 
it  was  he  who  in  the  previous  contest  had  defeated 
J.  Sterling  Morton,  one  of  the  Democratic  pio- 
neers of  Nebraska.  These  cautious  friends  en- 
deavored to  show  to  Bryan  that  he  had  but  little 
to  hope  for  in  the  unequal  fight  for  the  seat  in 
Congress.  One  of  these,  Judge  C.  L.  Hall,  a 
Republican,  but  a  warm  friend  of  Bryan,  advised 
him  to  let  the  nomination  for  Congress  go  to  any- 
one who  would  take  it  and  turn  his  attention  to 
an  endeavor  to  get  the  office  of  county  attorney 
of  Lancaster  county,  where  there  was  a  reason- 
ably good  show  for  his  election.  Mr.  Bryan 
looked  serious  for  a  moment  and  then  replied  to 
Judge  Hall's  suggestion  by  saying,  with  a  decision 
that  could  not  be  shaken,  "  What  you  say  is  pos- 
sibly true,  but  I  had  rather  be  a  defeated  candi- 
date for  Congress  than  a  successful  candidate  for 
county  attorney." 

This  subordination  of  certain  pecuniary  profit 
and  professional  advancement  to  the  desire  to  put 
before  the  people  his  opinions  on  public  questions 
has  been  characteristic  of  Mr.  Bryan  since  he 


59 

grew  to  manhood,  and  was  as  well  known  among 
his  acquaintances  in  Illinois,  when  he  had  his 
office  with  the  law  firm  of  Brown  &  Kirky  at 
Jacksonville,  as  it  afterwards  became  in  Ne- 
braska. 

Little  things  tell  even  in  the  lives  of  great  men. 
Mr.  Charles  C.  Moore,  of  Carlyle,  111.,  relates  an 
incident  that  happened  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis 
during  the  Republican  National  Convention.  Mr. 
Moore  says : 

"  Myself  and  friend  were  on  our  way  to  the 
Auditorium  from  the  Planters'  Hotel  and  had 
reached  Twelfth  street.  We  were  walking  along 
chatting  together,  not  noticing  anyone  in  parti- 
cular. A  one-armed  bicyclist  attracted  our  atten- 
tion for  a  few  moments,  and  I  remarked  then  that 
he  was  in  a  dangerous  vicinity,  as  there  were 
many  vehicles  on  the  street.  The  bicyclist  was 
not  given  further  thought  until  we  had  proceeded 
on  our  journey  a  block  and  a  half,  when  we  ob- 
served the  one-armed  man  and  bicycle  piled  up 
in  one  promiscuous  heap.  A  man  was  observed 
to  emerge  from  the  surging  mass  of  people  and 
proceed  to  render  assistance  to  the  unfortunate 
wheelman. 

"  We  stopped  and  watched  the  pair.  The  man 
who  had  so  kindly  gone  forward  and  offered 
help  was  busily  engaged  in  assisting  the  bicyclist 
replace  his  tire,  which  had  left  the  rim,  and  other- 
wise straighten  the  injured  machine.  When 


6o 

matters  had  been  satisfactorily  adjusted,  the  kind 
gentleman,  with  greasy  hands  and  soiled  linen, 
made  dirty  by  the  work,  returned  to  the  sidewalk. 
Upon  closer  investigation  it  was  found  that  the 
man  was  none  other  than  W.  J.  Bryan." 

Mr.  Bryan  is  quick  at  repartee.  On  one  oc- 
casion in  a  public  speech,  Mr.  Bryan  said  some- 
thing about  silver  falling  like  manna  from  heaven. 
In  a  public  interview  J.  Sterling  Morton  remarked 
that  Bryan  could  not  be  well  posted  on  the 
Scriptures.  He  reminded  Bryan  that  the  streets 
of  Paradise  and  the  harps  and  crowns  were  all 
golden,  and  he  pointed  with  some  pride  to  the 
fact  that  the  gold  standard  prevailed  in  heaven. 
When  these  suggestions  reached  Mr.  Bryan  he 
said  that  that  was  a  severe  thrust  at  Mr.  Cleve- 
land's idea  of  international  bimetallism  to  come 
from  a  member  of  the  Cabinet.  "For  how,"  in- 
quired Mr.  Bryan,  "can  international  bimetallism 
be  right  if  they  have  a  gold  standard  in  heaven?  " 

Mr.  Bryan  added :  "  I  have  been  told  that  some 
of  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  wear  diamonds. 
If  they  are  so  anxious  to  be  in  accord  with  heav- 
enly custom  they  should  put  pearls  on  their  shirt 
fronts,  for  we  read  in  verse  2 1,  chapter  xxi.,  of  Reve- 
lation, that  "each  gate  of  the  New  Jerusalem  was 
a  pearl." 

Mr.  Bryan  does  not  parade  his  Christianity,  but 
he  adheres  strictly  to  it  in  every  walk  of  life.  He 


6i 

is  fond  of  quoting-  the  last  verse  of  Bryant's  lines 
"  To  a  Waterfowl :  " 

"  He  who  from  zone  to  zone 

Guides  through  the  boundless  sky  thy  certain  flight, 
In  the  long  way  that  I  must  tread  alone 
Will  lead  my  steps  aright." 

In  a  eulogy  on  a  dead  colleague  in  Congress, 
Mr.  Bryan  used  these  eloquent  words,  full  of  the 
beautiful  faith  which  has  been  his  guide  in  his 
public  and  private  life : 

"  I  shall  not  believe  that  even  now  his  light  is 
extinguished.  If  the  Father  deigns  to  touch  with 
divine  power  the  cold  and  pulseless  heart  of  the 
buried  acorn,  and  make  it  to  burst  forth  from  its 
prison  walls,  will  He  leave  neglected  in  the  earth 
the  soul  of  man,  who  was  made  in  the  image  of 
his  Creator  ?  If  He  stoops  to  give  to  the  rose- 
bush, whose  withered  blossoms  float  upon  the 
breeze,  the  sweet  assurance  of  another  spring- 
time, will  He  withhold  the  words  of  hope  from  the 
sons  of  men  when  the  frosts  of  winter  come  ?  If 
matter,  mute  and  inanimate,  though  changed  by 
the  forces  of  Nature  into  a  multitude  of  forms,  can 
never  die,  will  the  imperial  spirit  of  man  suffer 
annihilation  after  it  has  paid  a  brief  visit,  like  a 
royal  guest,  to  this  tenement  of  clay  ? 

"  Rather  let  us  believe  that  He  who,  in  His  ap- 
parent prodigality,  wastes  not  the  raindrop,  the 
blade  of  grass,  or  the  evening's  sighing  zephyr, 


62 

but  makes  them  all  to  carry  out  His  eternal  plans, 
has  given  immortality  to  the  mortal,  and  gathered 
to  Himself  the  generous  spirit  of  our  friend." 

Mr.  Bryan  is  one  of  the  bravest  of  men.  He 
never  yet  dodged  a  question  concerning  his  atti- 
tude upon  any  public  affair.  He  never  held  back 
because  the  hill  which  it  was  his  duty  to  climb 
seemed  too  steep  for  a  human  being  to  ascend. 
He  never  indulged  in  personalities,  but  in  a  con- 
test of  principles  he  has  been  relentless  and  has 
shown  no  mercy  to  his  foe.  He  has  never  asked 
for  quarter  in  any  contest  where  duty  called  him. 
He  has  never  evaded  a  political  fight  and  has 
demonstrated  a  perfect  willingness  to  lead  his 
forces  to  battle  upon  the  enemy's  territory. 
Those  who  are  best  acquainted  with  him  were  not 
surprised  when  he  suggested  Madison  Square, 
New  York,  as  the  place  where  he  would  meet  the 
notification  committee.  That  is  right  in  the  heart 
of  the  territory  claimed  by  the  enemy  as  its  own, 
and  that  was  the  very  point  suggested  by  the 
courage  and  determination  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Bryan's  entire  career. 

One  of  Mr.  Bryan's  marked  characteristics  has 
been  his  absolute  confidence  that  the  principles  he 
has  advocated  will  ultimately  triumph.  The  writer 
has  seen  Mr.  Bryan  fresh  from  a  hard-earned 
victory  at  the  polls,  when  every  politician,  as  well 
as  the  people,  was  anxious  to  pay  him  homage; 
and  he  has  seen  Bryan  in  defeat.  In  both  instances 


63 

it  was  the  same  Bryan.  True,  in  the  presence  of 
victory  the  heart  was  lighter,  but  it  could  not  be 
said  that  in  defeat  that  heart  was  heavy.  There 
is  no  room  within  Bryan's  great  make-up  for 
despondency.  Every  defeat  he  regarded  as  being 
of  temporary  importance.  His  friends,  who  mo- 
nopolized the  despondency  of  the  occasion,  were 
reassured  by  the  young  statesman's  confident 
declaration,  "Our  principles  are  right  and  they 
will  ultimately  prevail.  Victory  will  be  all  the 
greater  because  a  few  battles  have  been  lost 
before  Appomattox  has  been  reached." 

Commenting  upon  Mr.  Bryan's  nomination  at 
Chicago,  the  Washington  City  Post  said: 

"  We  do  not  wonder  that  on  the  following  day, 
still  palpitating  under  the  spell  of  Bryan's  won- 
drous eloquence,  the  convention  turned  to  him  as 
a  needle  to  a  magnet.  It  may  not  be  capable  of 
analysis,  it  may  not  be  coldly  and  accurately 
demonstrable.  The  fact  remains,  Bryan  swept 
the  floor  of  the  convention  as  the  fire  sweeps  the 
autumn  prairie.  The  delegates  went  to  him  in  a 
strange  passion  of  desire.  Nothing  could  check 
the  fury  of  their  bent.  He  was  nominated — 
slowly  at  first,  swiftly  next  and  at  last,  in  a  wild 
crescendo  of  enthusiasm,  he  was  lifted  on  a  white- 
cap  of  unanimity  and  thrown  high  and  dry  on  the 
beach  of  his  surpassing  triumph. 

"The  country  at  large  knows  little  of  this  ex- 
traordinary young  man,  He  has  been  in  Con- 


64 

gress.  He  delivered  a  speech  upon  the  tariff  that 
enchanted  and  enchained  the  House.  He  has 
spoken  many  times  since  with  reference  to  the 
tariff,  and  always  he  has  held  his  audience  as  the 
sirens  held  the  fated  crew  that  sailed  with  Ulysses 
from  the  shore  of  Troy.  He  is  a  minstrel,  a  form 
of  grace,  a  thing  of  beauty.  What  he  is  beyond 
that,  who  knows? 

"  He  has  no  record  in  statesmanship.  He  was 
too  young  to  assert  his  patriotism  thirty-five  years 
ago.  What  schemes  of  government,  what  social 
theories  occupy  his  brain,  no  human  being  can 
disclose.  He  is  young,  he  is  ardent,  he  is  am- 
bitious, he  is  gifted  with  the  power  to  sway  men's 
minds,  he  is  a  born  leader,  an  attractive  figure  on 
the  stage,  and  that  is  all  we  know.  Whether  the 
American  people,  after  four  months  of  solid 
deliberation,  will  confide  their  destinies  to  his  un- 
tried hands,  we  do  not  undertake  to  prophesy. 
What  we  do  know  is  that  William  Jennings  Bryan 
is  the  most  dramatic  product  of  our  National 
politics,  the  most  sensational  and  picturesque 
creation  of  our  age." 

William  J.  Bryan  cannot  be  said  to  be  an  "un- 
tried man."  It  is  true  so  far  as  the  White  House 
is  concerned  he  is  "untried,"  much  as  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  "untried."  But  from  the  beginning 
of  Mr.  Bryan's  career,  from  boyhood  to  manhood, 
from  Lyman  TrumbuH's  office  in  Chicago  to  the 
Democratic  nomination  to  be  President  of  the 


65 

United  States,  William  J.  Bryan  has  met  and  dis- 
charged every  duty  as  it  arose  and  discharged 
that  duty  with  credit  to  himself.  Like  Lincoln  he 
was  tried  and  found  "  not  wanting "  in  small 
things,  and  like  Lincoln,  if  he  shall  be  tried,  he 
will  be  found  "not  wanting"  in  great  things. 
Like  Lincoln  he  had  the  confidence  and  the  love 
of  all  men  who  knew  him  well,  and  like  Lincoln 
he  will,  if  given  the  opportunity,  extend  that  con- 
fidence and  that  affection  until  it  embraces  the 
people  of  the  entire  Union. 

Mr.  Bryan's  career  will  not  be  regarded  as 
meteoric  by  one  who  analyzes  that  career  care- 
fully. He  has  developed  as  political  conditions 
have  developed.  He  has  grown  in  public  estima- 
tion steadily  and  strongly,  first  in  the  hearts  of 
the  citizens  of  his  own  home,  then  of  his  own 
State,  and  finally  into  the  broader  national  field 
which  he  entered  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as 
an  eloquent  advocate  of  popular  government. 

In  his  work  on  "Abraham  Lincoln  and  Men  of 
War  Times,"  Col.  A.  K.  McClure  says,  "  It  was 
the  unexpected  that  happened  in  Chicago  on  that 
fateful  1 8th  of  May,  1860,  when  Abraham  Lin- 
coln was  nominated  for  President  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  wholly  unexpected  by  the  friends 
of  Seward.  The  campaign  in  Pennsylvania  was 
really  the  decisive  battle  of  the  contest.  A  party 
had  to  be  created  out  of  inharmonious  elements 
and  the  commercial  and  financial  interests  of  that 
State  were  almost  solidly  against  us.  I  cannot 


66 

recall  a  commercial  man  of  prominence  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  to  whom  I  could  have  gone 
to  solicit  a  subscription  to  the  Lincoln  campaign 
with  reasonable  expectation  that  it  would  not  be 
refused.  Of  all  our  prominent  financial  men  I 
recall  only  Anthony  J.  Drexel,  who  actively  sym- 
pathized with  the  Republican  cause." 

That  condition,  in  some  respects,  at  least,  may 
be  similar  to  the  conditions  of  1896.  But  in  spite 
of  all  obstacles  Lincoln  was  elected,  because  he 
represented  principles  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people;  because  in  his  public  and  private  life  he 
had  so  lived  as  to  win  for  himself  the  love  and  the 
esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

It  is  said  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  that  he  never 
shirked  a  duty ;  that  he  was  a  man  who  knew  his 
countrymen  well  and  sympathized  with  them 
thoroughly;  that  he  was  equal  to  every  emergency 
with  which  he  was  confronted.  The  same  may  be 
said  with  equal  truth  of  William  J.  Bryan.  If 
Mr.  Bryan  shall  be  elected  to  the  Presidency,  the 
fathers  and  mothers  of  America  may  point  with 
pride  to  the  fact  that  the  White  House  is  occupied 
by  a  man  whose  public  service  is  dedicated  entirely 
to  his  people's  interest,  and  whose  private  life  is 
without  a  flaw.  The  ideal  President  of-  an  ideal 
Nation  he  will  be;  one  whose  ear  will  be  "tuned 
to  listen  to  the  heartbeat  of  humanity,"  one  who 
will  regard  his  office  as  a  sacred  trust  to  be  dis- 
charged in  the  hope  of  accomplishing  the  greatest 
good  for  the  greatest  number. 


CHAPTER  III. 
BRYAN  IN  NEBRASKA. 

Mr.  Bryan  located  in  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  in 
October,  1887.  From  his  Illinois  home  he  had 
gone  to  Lincoln  on  law  business,  and  while  there 
he  had  met  his  old  schoolmate,  A.  R.  Talbot,  Esq. 
Mr.  Bryan  was  so  captivated  with  the  little  city 
that  he  entered  a  law  partnership  with  his  old 
schoolmate,  under  the  firm  name  of  Talbot  & 
Bryan.  Returning  to  his  Illinois  home  he  closed 
up  his  affairs  there  and  with  his  family  removed  to 
Lincoln,  where  he  has  since  resided.  At  that 
time  Lincoln  was  what  is  known  as  a  "  Republican 
stronghold."  The  few  Democrats  in  Lincoln  soon 
discovered  that  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
ability  had  come  among  them,  while  the  men  of 
other  political  parties  learned  that  their  new  fellow- 
citizen  was  one  capable  of  gracing  any  commun- 
ity. Mr.  Bryan  devoted  himself  to  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  he  soon  became  a  favorite 
in  all  circles.  Invitations  to  address  literary  soci- 
eties, college  associations,  town  meetings,  and 
political  gatherings  came  fast,  and  Mr.  Bryan  soon 
established  for  himself  a  local  reputation,  not  so 
much  as  an  orator  as  for  a  logician.  It  did  not 
require  long  for  this  reputation  to  spread  over  the 

67 


68 

State,  and  when  Mr.  Bryan  was  elected  as  a  dele- 
gate from  Lancaster  County  to  the  Democratic 
State  Convention,  in  1888,  he  was  in  great  demand. 
Newspaper  reports  of  that  convention  contain  the 
following  paragraph  :  "  The  youngest  voter  in 
the  convention  was  Mr.  Bryan,  a  bright  young 
Democrat  from  Lancaster  County.  Mr.  Bryan 
was  rocked  in  a  cradle  made  of  hickory,  and 
while  he  never  cast  a  vote  for  '  Old  Hickory,'  he 
has,  since  his  majority,  never  cast  a  ballot  for  any 
presidential  candidate  who  did  not  represent  the 
principles  of  true  and  tried  Democracy."  The 
same  report  contents  itself  with  this  reference  to 
Mr.  Bryan's  first  convention  speech  in  Nebraska : 
"  Mr.  Bryan  of  Lancaster  County  was  then  called. 
He  came  forward  and  delivered  a  spirited  address 
in  the  course  of  which  he  said,  that,  if  the  plat- 
form laid  down  by  the  President  in  his  message 
upon  the  tariff  question  was  carried  out  and  vig- 
orously fought  upon  in  the  State,  it  would,  in  the 
course  of  a  short  time,  give  Nebraska  to  the 
Democracy.  He  thought  that  if  the  Democrats 
went  out  to  the  farmers  and  people  who  lived  in 
Nebraska,  and  showed  them  the  iniquity  of  the 
tariff  system,  they  would  rally  around  the  cause 
which  their  noble  leader,  Grover  Cleveland,  had 
championed." 

The  limited  newspaper  reference  to  Mr.  Bryan's 
speech  on  this  occasion  did  not  do  justice  to  either 
the  effort  or  the  manner  in  which  it  was  received 


69 

by  his  auditors.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  created 
the  greatest  amount  of  enthusiasm,  and  the  young 
orator  impressed  his  personality  indelibly  upon  the 
public  mind  of  his  adopted  State.  Mr.  C.  V.  Galla- 
gher, then  Postmaster  of  Omaha,  approached  Mr. 
Bryan,  and  complimenting  him  upon  his  effort 
said:  " Young  man  we  will  send  you  to  Con- 
gress." Although  Mr.  Gallagher  did  not  pretend 
to  speak  with  authority,  his  words  were  in  the 
nature  of  a  prophecy,  and  the  Democrats  of  the 
First  Congressional  District  did  send  William  J. 
Bryan  to  Congress  two  years  later. 

At  that  time  the  great  leaders  of  Nebraska 
Democracy  were  Dr.  George  L.  Miller,  the 
founder  of  the  Omaha  Herald,  and  now  Collector 
of  Customs  for  Omaha,  James  E.  Boyd,  who 
subsequently  became  Governor  of  the  State,  and 
J.  Sterling  Morton,  now  the  Secretary  of  Agricul- 
ture. The  Nebraska  Democracy  had  for  many 
years  been  split  into  factions  by  what  was  known  in 
common  parlance  as  the  "slaughter-house"  and 
the  "packing-house"  Democracy.  On  one  side 
Mr.  Morton  and  his  followers  were  arrayed,  while 
Dr.  Miller  and  Mr.  Boyd  were  the  leaders  of  the 
other  faction.  The  rank  and  file  of  the  party, 
while  true  in  the  factional  contests  to  their  leaders, 
had  become  weary  of  the  discord  and  turmoil 
within  their  own  party  ranks,  and  for  this  reason 
perhaps,  they  turned  more  readily  to  the  new  man 
who  had  come  among  them.  At  that  time  no  one 


yo 

had  any  thought  ol  the  great  prominence  which 
this  young  man  would  attain  in  political  affairs. 
But  at  that  time  no  one  had  foretold  the  great 
public  emergencies  that  would  arise.  And  right 
here  it  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  as  these 
public  emergencies  developed,  William  J.  Bryan 
developed  with  them. 

In  1888  the  First  Congressional  District  of 
Nebraska  comprised  eleven  of  the  most  populous 
counties  of  the  State.  The  cities  of  Omaha  and 
Lincoln  were  in  this  district.  In  that  year  J. 
Sterling  Morton,  the  present  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture, was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  ;  the 
Republicans  had  nominated  W.  J.  Connell,  one  of 
the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  State.  Mr.  Connell  was 
elected  over  Morton  by  a  plurality  of  3,400  votes. 

As  the  campaign  of  1890  approached,  a  few 
Democrats,  who  had  come  to  appreciate  Mr. 
Bryan's  real  ability,  believed  that  with  him  as  the 
nominee,  the  Republicans  could  be  defeated. 
But  these  confident  gentlemen  were  pointed  out 
as  mere  enthusiasts  ;  so  when  the  Democratic  Con- 
gressional Convention  met  at  Lincoln,  July  31,1 890, 
the  nomination  was  not  sought  by  any  man.  One 
gentleman,  it  is  true,  announced  his  willingness 
to  accept  the  honor,  but  he  only  received  a  few 
votes  from  his  own  county.  A  few  scattering 
votes  were  distributed  to  favorite  sons,  but  Mr. 
Bryan  was  nominated  on  the  first  formal,  by  a 
majority  of  115,  out  of  a  total  vote  of  159. 


There  were  a  few  gentlemen  who  came  out  of 
that  convention  who  entertained  and  expressed 
some  hope  that  Bryan  would  be  able  to  overcome 
the  overwhelming  Republican  majority.  But 
their  predictions  were  simply  laughed  at,  even  by 
many  of  their  own  party  associates. 

The  platform  upon  which  Mr.  Bryan  was  first 
nominated  for  Congress  declared  for  tariff  for 
revenue  only,  condemned  the  giving  of  subsidies 
and  bounties  of  every  kind  "  as  a  perversion  of 
the  taxing  power,"  favored  liberal  pensions  to  the 
disabled  veterans,  favored  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution,  providing  for  the  election  of  United 
States  senators  by  the  people,  declared  for  the 
Australian  ballot  system,  declared  against  trusts 
in  all  their  forms.  That  platform  also  contained 
these  two  planks :  "We  demand  the  free  coinage 
of  silver  on  equal  terms  with  gold,  and  denounce 
the  efforts  of  the  Republican  party  to  serve  the 
interest  of  Wall  Street  as  against  the  rights  of 
,  the  people."  Also  :  "  Believing  that  the  duty  of 
the  representative  is  to  represent  the  will  and 
interests  of  his  constituents,  we  denounce  as  un- 
democratic, any  attempt  by  caucus  dictation  to 
prevent  a  congressman  from  voicing  the  sentiment 
of  his  people  upon  every  vital  question." 

These  two  planks  serve  as  an  index  to  Mr. 
Bryan's  subsequent  political  course.  Unswerving 
in  his  devotion  to  the  first  plank,  he  has  preached 
the  doctrine  of  bimetallism  from  the  stump  in 


every  State  and  from  his  seat  in  Congress.  Al- 
ways mindful  that  the  people  have  no  voice  in 
legislation,  except  through  the  vote  and  voice  of 
their  representative,  he  has  hewn  strictly  to  the 
line  of  his  people's  interest  as  he  learned  their 
interests,  and  has  refused  to  surrender  any  prin- 
ciple in  which  he  believed  those  popular  interests 
to  be  involved.  Mr.  Bryan's  speech,  in  accepting 
his  first  congressional  nomination,  inspired  great 
hope  in  the  breasts  of  his  "enthusiasts."  On 
that  occasion  Mr.  Bryan  said  in  part:  — 

"Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — 

"  I  scarcely  know  in  what  words  to  express  my 
high  appreciation  of  the  honor  which  you  have 
conferred,  and  my  deep  sense  of  the  responsi- 
bility which  the  nomination  imposes  upon  me.  I 
shall  cherish  in  grateful  remembrance  your  kind- 
ness, which  has  resulted  in  this  nomination.  I 
accept  from  your  hands  and  at  your  command  the 
standard  for  this  district,  and,  whether  I  carry  it 
to  victory,  or,  as  our  President  has  gracefully  ex- 
pressed it,  fall  '  Fighting  just  outside  of  the 
breastworks,'  it  shall  not  suffer  dishonor.  You 
have  nominated  me  knowing  that  I  have  neither 
the  means  nor  the  inclination  to  win  an  election 
by  corrupt  influences.  If  I  am  elected  it  will  be 
because  the  electors  of  this  district,  by  their  free 
and  voluntary  choice,  have  chosen  me  for  their 
service,  I  have  read  your  platform.  If  elected 


73 

I  shall  consider  its  conscientious  execution  as  my 
first  duty,  and  I  can  follow  its  directions  the  more 
cheerfully  because  the  sentiments  therein  ex- 
pressed have  my  unqualified  approval.  In  mat- 
ters not  covered  by  the  platform  I  shall  feel  free 
to  act  for  the  best  interests  of  my  constituents 
and  of  my  country,  according  to  the  best  light 
that  I  have.  I  cannot  promise  my  course  will  be 
free  from  mistake,  but  I  will  promise  that  every 
duty  devolving  on  me,  whether  great  or  small,  as 
your  representative  upon  the  floor  or  in  the  exe- 
cution of  the  details  of  the  office,  will  be  dis- 
charged as  my  judgment  shall  dictate  and  to  the 
best  of  my  ability,  so  help  me  God. 

"This  is  the  first  canvass,  I  may  say,  that  I 
have  ever  been  called  upon  to  make,  and  I  lack 
the  experience  which  frequent  contests,  whether 
successful  or  unsuccessful,  would  give.  I  must 
rely,  therefore,  largely  upon  the  wisdom  of  the 
committee  which  you  select.  If  it  is  their  wish,  I 
am  ready  to  meet  in  joint  debate,  in  every  county 
in  my  district,  the  champion  of  high  taxes,  who- 
ever he  may  be,  and  I  shall  go  forth  to  the  con- 
flict as  David  went  to  meet  the  giant  of  the 
Philistines,  not  relying  upon  my  own  strength  but 
trusting  to  the  righteousness  of  my  cause. 

"Your  platform  says  that  the  object  of  Gov- 
ernment is  to  protect  every  citizen  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness, 
unaided  by  public  contribution  and  unburdened 


74 

by  oppressive  exactions.  That  is,  indeed,  the 
criterion  by  which  every  law  should  be  judged, 
and  it  is  only  when  that  rule  is  disregarded  that 
laws  become  unequal.  Government  is  per- 
verted and  its  instrumentalities  turned  to  private 
ends.  It  is  only  when  that  rule  is  disregarded 
that  class  legislation  springs  up  in  its  multiplied 
form,  and  robbery  in  the  form  and  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  law  begins  its  work  of  enriching  the  rich 
and  impoverishing  the  poor.  To  the  disregard  of 
that  rule  can  be  traced  every  evil  that  flows  from 
bad  government,  and  by  its  wise  application  can 
be  remedied  every  wrong  which  we  now  suffer. 
You  have  condemned  the  McKinley  bill,  and  well 
you  may  ;  for  of  all  the  wolves  that  in  the  cloth- 
ing of  sheep  have  sought  their  unsuspecting  vic- 
tims, that  wolf  is  the  most  ravenous  that  we  have 
known.  Well  has  the  Chicago  Tribune  likened 
the  effect  of  the  McKinley  bill  upon  the  farmer  to 
the  treatment  of  Amasa  by  his  friend  Joab.  'And 
Joab  said,  art  thou  in  health,  my  brother  ?  And 
Joab  took  Amasa  by  the  beard  to  kiss  him,  and 
Amasa  took  no  notice  of  the  sword  that  was  in 
Joab's  hand,  so  Joab  thrust  him  in  the  fifth  rib 
therewith,  and  he  died/  May  we  not  hope  that 
Amasa — the  farmer — sees  the  sword  in  Joab's 
hand  and  will  escape  ? 

"You  have  demanded  the  election  of  United 
States  senators  by  the  people.  However  wise 
the  founders  of  our  Government  may  have  been 


HON.  DAVID  TURPIE, 
U.  8.  Senator  from  Indiana. 


HON.  SAMUEL  PASCO, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Florida. 


77 

in  making  provision  for  the  election  of  United 
States  senators  by  the  legislatures  of  the  various 
States,  we  believe  the  time  has  come  for  a  change. 
A  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate,  the  highest 
legislative  body  known  among  men,  should  be 
given  as  the  reward  for  labor  done  in  behalf  of 
the  people.  It  should  not  be  an  honor  sold  at 
auction  to  the  man  who  is  able  to  purchase  it. 

"  You  have  condemned  the  caucus.  Upon  no 
plank  do  I  stand  with  more  firmness  than  upon 
this.  And  I  am  glad  that  our  party,  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  principles  of  free  government, 
has  taken  a  position  against  any  caucus  dictation 
that  will  prevent  a  congressman  from  represent- 
ing freely,  fully  and  fearlessly  the  interests  of  his 
constituents  upon  every  question.  But  this  is  no 
time  for  speech-making.  It  is  not  needed  for  en- 
couragement. You  who  have  stood  by  your 
party  in  the  hours  of  adversity,  when  you  found 
virtue  its  own  and  often  only  reward,  could  not 
be  aided  by  any  words  of  mine.  Nor  is  it  needed 
for  instruction.  For  we  have  it  upon  good  au- 
thority that  the  sick  and  not  the  whole  need  a 
physician.  Let  us  prepare  for  the  work  which  lies 
before  us.  When  this  convention  has  adjourned 
I  desire  to  meet  every  delegate.  And  if  time 
permits  I  will  visit  you  in  your  homes.  I  will  call 
upon  you  upon  your  farms  and  help  you  make 
hay  while  the  sun  shines,  and  I  shall  expect  you 
to  help  me  make  votes  all  the  time.  It  is  no 


78 

small  task  to  shake  hands  with  70,000  voters  and 
learn  the  names  and  ages  of  twice  that  number 
of  children,  but  with  your  help  I  will  try  to  ac- 
complish it.  Let  us  fight  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
and  carry  on  the  battle  all  along  the  line,  fighting 
for  good  government  and  the  interests  of  our 
fellow-men.  We  are  inspired  by  the  noblest 
instinct  that  can  inspire  to  deeds  of  bravery,  and 
if  you  can  work  half  as  earnestly  and  bravely  for 
the  success  of  this  ticket  as  your  candidate  does, 
your  representative  in  Congress  for  the  next  two 
years  will  bear  the  name  which  my  parents  thirty 
years  ago  last  March  gave  to  me." 

The  people  generally  did  not  receive  the  news 
of  Mr.  Bryan's  nomination  with  any  very  serious 
thought.  It  was  generally  believed  that  the  over- 
whelming Republican  majority  could  not  be  over- 
come. And  yet  the  Democratic  party  was  con- 
gratulated, even  by  its  opponents,  upon  having 
selected  a  clean  and  able  man  as  its  standard- 
bearer.  Gen.  Van  Wyck,  who  was  supposed  to 
be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  Nebraska  politics, 
and  whose  sympathies  with  reform  measures  were 
well  established,  said  Connell's  election  was  as- 
sured, and  that  Bryan  stood  "not  a  ghost  of  a 
chance." 

The  Omaha  World-Herald,  which  newspaper 
had  been  Mr.  Bryan's  consistent  champion,  took  a 
more  hopeful  view  of  the  situation  and  said 
editorially : 


79 

"  The  action  of  the  Democratic  convention  of 
the  First  Congressional  District  in  nominating 
William  J.  Bryan,  of  Lincoln,  for  Congress  ensures 
a  lively  campaign  for  tariff  reform  and  probably  a 
victory  also. 

"  Young,  eloquent,  earnest  and  able,  Bryan  is 
the  very  best  standard-bearer  who  could  have 
been  chosen  to  lead  the  recently-aroused  masses 
against  the  fortifications  behind  which  the  favored 
classes  are  entrenched.  He  not  only  fully  under- 
stands the  methods  by  which  the  people  of  the 
West  have  been  despoiled,  but  he  has  a  happy 
faculty  of  discussing  the  tariff  issues  so  that 
even  'the  way-faring  man,  though  a  fool,'  can 
understand  the  evils  of  the  present  Republican 
policy  on  the  great  national  issue. 

"Mr.  Bryan  is  as  popular  as  he  is  able,  and  his 
integrity  is  as  acknowledged  as  his  ability.  Ex- 
emplary and  studious  in  his  habits,  he  has  always 
taken  a  keen  interest  in  politics — not  as  the  poli- 
tician does,  but  rather  as  the  statesman  should. 
Upon  the  national  issues,  past  and  present,  Bryan 
will  prove  himself  to  be  thoroughly  informed. 
His  convictions  are  deep  and  his  manner  earnest. 
He  is  poor  and  he  has  stated  in  advance  that  he 
had  nothing  to  contribute  towards  the  campaign 
except  his  own  services  ;  but  the  World-Herald 
believes  that  in  the  thorough  canvass  of  the  dis- 
trict, which  Mr.  Bryan  will  make,  an  influence 
more  potent  in  winning  votes  will  be  found  than 
the  gold  of  a  boodle  candidate. 


8o 

"The  people  of  the  big  First  may  expect  to  find 
Mr.  Bryan  often  on  the  stump  for  tariff  reform, 
but  never  up  the  stump." 

The  Republican  newspapers  of  the  district 
thought  to  cripple  the  Democratic  nominee  by 
ridicule.  They  applied  to  him  the  designation 
"  Young  Mr.  Bryan."  The  Democratic  news- 
papers accepted  the  challenge,  and  pleading 
guilty  to  the  charge  that  their  candidate  was  not 
old,  declared  "Young  Mr.  Bryan  would  be  a 
credit  to  Nebraska  in  the  lower  house  of  Con- 
gress." 

At  the  Democratic  State  Convention  for  Ne- 
braska, held  in  1 890,  the  name  of  Bryan  was  on 
every  tongue,  and  he  stirred  that  convention  to 
great  enthusiasm  by  an  eloquent  speech  from 
which  these  extracts  are  taken : 

"  We  have  declared  in  favor  of  free  silver.  We 
demand  that  the  white  metal  and  the  yellow  metal 
shall  be  treated  exactly  alike.  For  two  hundred 
years  before  the  Republican  party  demonetized 
silver,  the  ratio  between  silver  and  gold  remained 
almost  the  same.  In  the  seventeen  years  since 
demonetization,  gold  has  risen  from  i  to  1 6  to  i  to 
22,  and  values  have  been  shrinking  in  proportion. 

"  We  have  demanded  the  election  of  the  United 
States  senators  by  the  people  and  no  answer  can 
be  made  to  our  demand  that  does  not  deny  the 
right  of  self-government. 

"We  denounce  the  McKinley  bill,  which  under 


8i 

the  guise  of  protection  to  American  industries, 
seeks  to  increase  the  load  of  an  already  over- 
burdened people.  What  is  a  protective  tariff?  A 
tax  levied  upon  the  many  for  the  benefit  of  a  few. 
(Applause.)  What  does  it  mean  ?  It  means 
that  when  a  man  has  labored  for  six  days  to  pro- 
vide the  necessaries  for  his  family,  he  has  given 
four  days  for  what  he  buys  and  two  days  for  the 
tax.  It  means  that  four  months  out  of  a  year 
are  given  for  tribute — that  a  third  of  his  life  is 
wasted.  It  is  strange  that,  under  such  conditions, 
so  many  are  unable  to  lay  aside  in  life's  summer 
enough  to  support  them  in  life's  decline.  (Ap- 
plause.) Some  have  grown  enormously  rich, 
while  the  many  have  become  extremely  poor. 
Dives  has  prospered  and  Lazarus  still  sits  waiting 
f or  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the  table.  (Ap- 
plause.) The  mass  of  Republicans  in  this  State 
are  as  earnest  in  their  desire  for  tariff  reform  as 
we  are,  but  they  have  hoped  for  their  own  party. 
They  have  deluded  themselves  with  the  belief  that 
the  Republican  party  was  only  flirting  with  organ- 
ized wealth,  and  that  it  would  finally  wed  the  poor 
man,  but  the  marriage  between  the  grand  old 
party  and  monopoly  has  been  consummated,  and 
'  what  God  has  joined  together  let  no  man  put 
asunder.'  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

"When  Ulysses,  returning  home,  approached 
the  island  of  the  sirens  he  put  wax  in  the  ears  of 
his  sailors  and  had  himself  tied  to  the  ship's  mast 


82 

so  he  could  not  turn  aside.  We  have  no  sirens 
singing  to-day,  but  there  is  a  voice  of  moaning 
coming  up  from  the  agricultural  classes — a  great 
wail  of  distress,  and  the  commanders  of  the  Re- 
publican ship  have  stopped  the  ears  of  their  sail- 
ors and  made  them  deaf  to  the  cry  of  the  people, 
while  they  themselves  are  so  tied  to  the  protected 
interests  by  ante-election  promises  that  hearing 
they  cannot  heed.  (Long-continued  applause.) 

"  Let  us  bring  light  to  those  that  sit  in  dark- 
ness. As  honest  men  to  honest  men  present  the 
iniquities  of  the  robber  tariff  and  success  will 
come.  How  long  will  our  farmers  worship  at  the 
shrine  of  a  high  tariff? 

"  In  Australia  they  have  a  tree  called  the 
cannibal  tree.  Its  leaves,  like  great  arms,  reach 
out  until  they  touch  the  ground,  and  on  the  top  of 
tlie  tree  there  is  a  cup  containing  a  mysterious 
kind  of  honey.  Some  of  the  tribes  worship  this 
tree,  and  on  their  great  days  surround  it,  dancing 
and  shouting.  Then  one  of  their  number  is  se- 
lected as  a  victim,  and  at  the  point  of  spears  is 
driven  upon  the  tree.  He  tastes  of  the  fluid  and 
the  cup  and  he  is  overcome  by  a  strange  intoxica- 
tion. Then  those  great  arms,  as  if  instinct  with 
life,  rise  up  and,  encircling  him  in  their  powerful 
folds,  crush  out  his  life  while  his  companions  look 
on  with  shouts  of  joy.  (Applause.)  Have  we 
not  seen  a  like  picture  in  Nebraska?  Farmer 
after  farmer  has  been  crushed  to  death  in  the  arms 


of  an  oppressive  tariff,  and  yet  farmers  have 
(  been  found  who,  within  sight  of  their  unfortunate 
•  companions,  have  shouted  their  praise  of  the 
great  American  system. 

"Let  us  hope  that  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a 
brighter  day  when  equal  laws  will  lighten  the 
burden  of  the  toiling  masses.  (Long-continued 
applause  and  cheers.) 

Mr.  Bryan  immediately  took  the  stump  in 
his  district,  and  drew  men  to  him,  on  a  smaller 
scale  it  is  true,  but  in  the  same  way  as  he  drew 
men  to  him  at  Chicago,  and  as  he  has  always 
drawn  men  to  him  wherever  he  has  appeared  in 
public. 

The  Omaha  World-Herald  sounded  the  first 
note  of  genuine  hope  to  the  Democrats  of  the 
First  Nebraska  District,  when,  in  an  editorial  two 
months  before  the  election,  that  newspaper  an- 
nounced: "Mr.  Bryan  is  tearing  Mr.  Council's 
fences  into  pieces,  and  if  Wm.  J.  Bryan  could 
personally  meet  one-half  of  the  voters  of  the 
First  district,  the  election  of  the  young  orator,  by 
an  overwhelming  majority,  would  be  assured. 
But  Mr.  Bryan  will  make  a  thorough  canvass  of 
the  district,  and  wherever  Bryan  goes  he  wins 
earnest  champions  to  his  cause." 

Mr.  Bryan's  remarkable  campaign  was  well  de- 
scribed in  the  following  editorial  in  the  World- 
Herald  : 

"The   campaign   which    Mr.   W.   J.  Bryan   is 


84 

making  in  the  First  Congressional  District  is  as 
strong  and  vigorous  as  it  is  clean  and  honorable, 
and  that  is  saying  much. 

"He  is  speaking  five  or  six  times  a  week,  and 
it  is  noticeable  that  he  draws  large  audiences  and 
makes  good  impressions.  He  handles  the  great 
tariff  question  in  so  fair  and  candid  a  way  and 
discusses  it  in  such  plain  and  simple  language 
that  a  child  can  understand  the  points  and  follow 
the  argument.  He  wastes  no  time  on  oratorical 
flights  or  glittering  generalities,  but  he  talks  di- 
rectly to  the  point,  discussing  the  question  with 
the  earnestness  of  strong  convictions  and  the 
eloquence  of  honest  words. 

"If  Bryan  is  not  a  great  orator  he  is,  at  least, 
a  convincing  speaker,  and  he  deals  with  his  facts 
so  frankly  and  ably  that  he  wins  votes  every- 
where. 

"  He  is,  moreover,  not  a  dodger.  On  every, 
thing  he  is  outspoken  and  explicit.  He  never 
fails  to  announce  that  he  is  against  prohibition. 
He  tells  this  to  small  groups  of  farmers  where 
prohibition  may  be  in  favor  as  readily  as  he  tells 
it  to  city  audiences  where  it  is  not.  In  short, 
Bryan  is  a  strong  character  as  well  as  a  clean  one, 
and  he  is  making  a  campaign  on  principle. 

"He  is  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  cause  of 
democracy  and  of  the  people,  not  only  because  he 
is  a  popular  candidate,  but  because  he  never  fails 
in  his  addresses  to  dwell  upon  the  importance  of 


Hox.  II.  M.  TELLER, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Colorado. 


HON.  RICHARD  P.  BLAND, 

Ex-Congressman  from  Missouri. 


87 

electing1  Mr.  Boyd  and  his  ticket  over  Mr.  Rich- 
ards and  his. 

"  Bryan,  as  a  campaigner,  is  a  success.  He  will 
be  a  congressman." 

Mr.  Bryan  invaded  Omaha,  the  home  of  Mr. 
Connell,  and  he  addressed  a  great  gathering  of 
Omaha  people,  impressing  upon  his  auditors  his 
earnestness,  his  eloquence  and  his  ability. 

Republican  leaders  had  by  this  time  become 
thoroughly  alarmed.  They  realized  that  a  strong 
man  had  been  pitted  against  them. 

In  that  year  the  Prohibition  question  was  before 
the  people  of  Nebraska,  and  in  the  hope  of  injur- 
ing Mr.  Bryan,  one  distinguished  Republican 
orator  charged  him  with  being  a  Prohibitionist.  It 
was  charged  that  at  a  banquet  given  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  bar,  in  Lincoln,  Mr.  Bryan  opposed 
the  use  of  liquor  on  the  banquet  table.  Mr.  Bryan 
met  the  charge  promptly,  as  he  has  met  every 
question  submitted  to  him.  In  a  public  speech  he 
said:  "  The  use  of  wine  at  the  Lincoln  banquet  was 
abandoned  for  two  reasons.  First :  Some  of  the 
expected  guests  were  known  to  have  a  weakness 
for  the  flowing  bowl  which  would  result  in  their 
intoxication.  Second  :  It  was  a  question  of  hav- 
ing the  banquet  without  wine  or  without  women. 
Many  of  the  guests  at  that  banquet  could  do 
without  wine,  but  none  of  them  could  do  without 
the  refining  influence  of  woman,  so  wine  was 
abandoned  and  woman  triumphed.  If  this  be 


88 

treason,  make  the  most  of  it."  It  is  unnecessary 
to  say  that  the  Republicans  were  very  ready  to 
drop  the  Prohibition  charge  against  Mr.  Bryan. 

Mr.  Bryan's  committee  challenged  his  opponent 
to  joint  debate.  His  opponent  called  a  confer- 
ence of  his  friends,  and  Mr.  Connell  was  urged 
to  accept  the  challenge.  He  was  assured  that  Mr. 
Bryan  was  a  "one-speech  man,"  and  while  Mr. 
Connell  might  be  a  little  worse  for  the  wear  after 
the  first  meeting,  he  would  grind  his  young 
opponent  to  powder  in  the  subsequent  contests. 
The  Chairman  of  the  Republican  Congressional 
Committee  struck  upon  a  happy  scheme  of  ob- 
taining expert  opinion  on  this  subject,  and  se- 
lected a  committee  of  three  young  lawyers  and 
charged  them  with  the  duty  of  listening  to  Mr. 
Bryan  and  informing  his  opponent  as  to  whether 
the  challenge  to  joint  debate  might  be  safely  ac- 
cepted. These  "  experts "  reported  that  Mr. 
Bryan  was  certainly  a  "  one-speech  man,"  and 
that  his  opponent  would  have  easy  sailing  after 
the  first  week. 

A  series  of  eleven  meetings  were  arranged  at 
different  points  in  the  district.  The  opening  was 
had  at  Lincoln,  Mr.  Bryan's  home.  Three  thou- 
sand people  gathered  to  hear  the  orators  and 
while  Mr.  Bryan  electrified  the  gathering  by  his 
eloquence  and  his  logic,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Con- 
nell congratulated  themselves  and  their  candidate 
that  he  escaped  the  ordeal  with  breath  in  his 


§9 

body,  and  they  promised  that  in  the  next  meeting, 
in  Omaha,  there  would  be  nothing  left  to  tell  the 
tale  of  the  young  candidate  from  Lincoln. 

One  of  the  greatest  gatherings  that  ever  as- 
sembled, in  the  history  of  Omaha,  attended  the 
Bryan-Connell  debate  in  that  city.  The  audience 
was  made  up,  for  the  most  part,  of  the  men  one 
sees  in  courts,  in  business  circles  and  among  the 
manufactories.  Mechanics  from  the  shops,  and 
attorneys  fresh  from  conventions  jostled  one  an- 
other. Capitalists  were  neighbors  of  laboring 
men,  and  the  throbbing  voice  of  the  politician 
reached  out  to  exercise  itself.  It  was  an  interested 
and  an  interesting  throng.  Nobody  was  there 
to  loiter  ;  one  could  readily  see  that  by  the  atten- 
tion given  to  every  minor  preliminary  detail.  A 
few  ladies  enlivened  the  monotonous  melange  of 
men,  but  the  masculine  side  had  the  majority  so 
extensively  that  they  quite  overshadowed.  By 
eight  o'clock  the  house  wras  without  standing 
room,  and  1500  people,  it  was  estimated,  were 
turned  away  from  the  door.  Mr.  Connell  learned 
then  that  expert  testimony  may  not  always  with 
safety  be  relied  upon.  He  learned  that  his  op- 
ponent was  not  a  "one-speech  man."  He  learned 
that  he  was  an  orator,  eloquent  and  powerful,  a 
logician  strong  and  accurate,  and  that  in  repartee 
he  was  without  a  superior.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Connell  defended  his  cause  better  than 
any  other  man  could  have  done,  he  was  com- 


90 

pletely  overpowered  by  his  young  opponent.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  debate  men  climbed  over 
one  another  to  shake  the  hand  of  the  young 
orator.  Thousands  of  people  vainly  struggled  to 
secure  a  foothold  on  the  stage.  From  that  mo- 
ment it  was  evident  that  the  Republican  candidate 
would  be  defeated,  unless  unusual  efforts  should 
be  put  forth. 

At  subsequent  appointments  Mr.  Bryan  won 
similar  triumphs.  The  people  flocked  from  all 
parts  of  the  State  to  hear  the  young  orator  and 
witness  his  magnificent  victories. 

During  the  progress  of  these  debates  the 
Omaha  World-Herald  contained  an  editorial 
which  is  interesting  at  this  time,  not  only  because 
of  its  description  of  Bryan's  marvellous  power, 
but  as  well  for  it  prophetic  utterances. 

BRYAN   ON    THE    STUMP. 

"  It  is  very  seldom  in  these  days  that  oratory  is 
met  with,  for  the  reason  that  oratory  is  something 
composed  at  once  of  eloquence,  simplicity  and 
magnetism,  and  that  while  eloquence  and  even 
magnetism  are  frequently  met  with  among 
Americans,  simplicity  is  not.  Mr.  W.  J.  Bryan, 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  Congress  from  the 
First  district,  has  this  quality.  He  is,  without 
doubt,  one  of  the  most  impressive  men  who  have 
ever  been  on  the  western  hustings.  To  begin 
with,  he  is  no  diplomat,  and  in  one  sense  of  the 


word  he  does  not  possess  adroitness.  That  is, 
he  appears  to  be  doing  nothing  for  effect.  His 
remarks  are  direct.  They  are  unqualified,  and 
they  always  have  the  effect  of  being  spontaneous. 

"He  is  not  an  apologetic  speaker,  but  a  com- 
manding one.  He  does  not  sue  for  attention. 
He  takes  it  for  granted  that  he  will  receive  it. 
He  delights  in  his  audience,  and  inspires  in  them 
a  sense  of  exhilaration  such  as  he  apparently 
feels  himself.  He  is  enamored  with  his  cause, 
and,  believing  fully  in  it,  forces  his  listeners  to  do 
the  same.  So  impregnated  is  he  with  the  idea 
that  his  cause  is  righteous  that  he  is  without  fear, 
relying  on  the  truth  to  meet  the  subtlest  argu- 
ment that  may  be  adduced  by  his  opponents. 
Then  he  has  a  pleasant  wit,  and  even  a  spirit  of 
mischief,  and  at  times  that  broad  and  responsive 
smile  points  a  paragraph  as  no  spoken  words  can 
do,  and  lays  his  opponent  open  to  the  ridicule 
which  Bryan  himself  refrains  from  inflicting.  This 
quality  is  contagious.  And  it  kills  rancor.  For 
it  is  impossible  to  feel  any  anger  toward  an  adver- 
sary at  whom  one  laughs. 

"Nature  has  gifted  Mr.  Bryan  with  a  remark- 
able face — such  a  face  as  could  be  carved  on  a 
coin  and  not  be  out  of  place.  He  has  a  physical 
vigor  which  makes  his  unstudied  gestures  forcible 
and  emphatic.  He  has  an  eye  which  is  by  turns 
commanding  and  humorous.  And  he  has  a  voice 
which  is  equally  adapted  to  tenderness  or  to  de- 


93 

nunciation.  All  these  natural  gifts  has  William 
J.  Bryan  and  to  them  is  added  a  talent  for  re- 
search, a  genius  for  accuracy,  and  a  nature  of 
truth.  There  are  not  many  men  cast  in  such 
mold  in  these  days  of  sycophants,  weaklings  and 
time-servers. 

"  Let  Nebraska  congratulate  herself  on  the  fact 
that  she  has  an  orator  who  possesses  the  physical 
and  mental  qualities  to  make  him  a  remarkable  man 
in  the  history  of  this  nation.  And  if  the  World- 
Herald  reads  the  stars  aright,  the  time  will  come 
when  W.  J.  Bryan  will  have  a  reputation  which 
will  reach  far  beyond  Nebraska — and  it  will  be  a 
reputation  for  the  performance  of  good  and  disin- 
terested deeds." 

Mr.  Bryan's  opponents  circulated  the  charge 
that  he  belonged  to  an  Anti-Catholic  Society.  A 
telegraphic  inquiry  brought  this  response  : 

WEEPING  WATER,  NEB.,  October  18,  1890. 
To  the  Editor  World-Herald: 

"  Your  despatch  just  received.  I  belong  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  but  do  not  belong  to  any 
Anti-Catholic  Society.  I  respect  every  man's 
right  to  worship  God  according  to  his  own  con- 
science." W.  J.  BRYAN. 

The  Bryan-Connell  debates  were  concluded  at 
Syracuse.  In  spite  of  the  pronounced  victory  of 
one  of  the  participants,  there  had  grown  up  be- 
tween the  two  contestants  a  strong  personal 


93 

friendship,  which,  by  the  way,  has  matured  during 
succeeding  years.  A  great  crowd  had  gathered 
to  witness  the  closing  scenes  of  that  debate. 
Preparations  had  been  made  by  the  farmers  of 
the  vicinity  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity 
to  hear  and  see  the  acknowledged  champion  of 
their  cause.  Badges  bearing  Bryan's  name  were 
numerous  among  the  throng.  Cheer  after  cheer 
greeted  his  appearance.  Hundreds  flocked 
around  to  shake  his  hand  and  to  assure  him  of 
their  personal  intention  to  vote  for  him.  Special 
trains  from  the  capital  city  brought  down  a  throng 
of  interested  friends.  In  that  debate,  Mr.  Bryan 
had  the  closing,  and  when  he  had  concluded  his 
argument  he  turned  to  his  opponent  and  presented 
him  with  a  handsomely-bound  volume  of  "  Gray's 
Elegy"  in  the  following  words : 

"  Mr.  Connell,  we  now  bring  to  a  close  this 
series  of  debates  which  was  arranged  by  our  com- 
mittees. I  am  glad  that  we  have  been  able  to 
conduct  these  discussions  in  a  courteous  and 
friendly  manner.  If  I  have,  in  any  way,  offended 
you  in  word  or  deed  I  offer  apology  and  regret, 
and  as  freely  forgive.  I  desire  to  present  to  you 
in  remembrance  of  these  pleasant  meetings  this 
little  volume,  because  it  contains  "  Gray's  Elegy," 
in  perusing  which  I  trust  you  will  find  as  much 
pleasure  and  profit  as  I  have  found.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  touching  tributes  to  hum- 
ble life  that  literature  contains.  Grand  in  its 


94 

sentiment,  sublime  in  its  simplicity,  we  may  both 
find  in  it  a  solace  in  victory  or  defeat.  If  success 
should  crown  your  efforts  in  this  campaign,  and 
it  should  be  your  lot  '  The  applause  of  listening 
senates  to  command,'  and  I  am  left 

'A  youth  to  fortune  and  to  fame  unknown,' 

"  Forget  not  us  who  in  the  common  walks  of  life 
perform  our  part,  but  in  the  hour  of  your  triumph 
recall  the  verse : 

'  Let  not  ambition  mock  their  useful  toil , 

Their  homely  joys  and  destiny  obscure; 
Nor  grandeur  hear,  with  disdainful  smile, 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor.' 

"If,  on  the  other  hand,  by  the  verdict  of  my 
countrymen,  I  shall  be  made  your  successor,  let 
it  not  be  said  of  you  : 

'And  melancholy  marked  him  for  her  own.' 

"  But  find  sweet  consolation  in  the  thought : 

'  Full  many  a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene, 

The  dark  unfathomed  caves  of  ocean  bear; 

Full  many  a  flower  was  born  to  blush  unseen, 

And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air. ' 

*'  But  whether  the  palm  of  victory  is  given  to  you 
or  to  rne,  let  us  remember  those  of  whom  the  poet 
says : 

'  Far  from  the  madding  crowd's  ignoble  strife 
Their  sober  wishes  never  learned  to  stray, 
Along  the  cool  sequestered  vales  of  life 

They  keep  the  noiseless  tenor  of  their  way' 

These  are  the  ones  most  likely  to  be  forgotten  by 
the  Government.  When  the  poor  and  weak  cry 


Hox.  JOHN.  W.  DANIEL, 

U.  S.  Senator  from  Virginia. 


HON.  J.  C.  S.  BLACKBURN, 
U.  S.  Senator  from  Kentucky. 


97 

out  for  relief  they  too  often  hear  no  answer  but 
'the  echo  of  their  cry/  while  the  rich,  the  strong, 
the  powerful  are  given  an  attentive  ear.  For  this 
reason  is  class  legislation  dangerous  and  deadly. 
It  takes  from  the  least  able  to  give  to  those  who 
are  least  in  need.  The  safety  of  our  farmers  and 
our  laborers  is  not  in  special  legislation,  but  in 
equal  and  just  laws  that  bear  alike  on  every  man. 
The  great  masses  of  our  people  are  interested, 
not  in  getting  their  hands  into  other  people's 
pockets,  but  in  keeping  the  hands  of  other  people 
out  of  their  pockets.  Let  me,  in  parting,  express 
the  hope  that  you  and  I  may  be  instrumental  in 
bringing  our  Government  back  to  better  laws 
which  will  treat  every  man  in  all  our  land  without 
regard  to  creed  or  condition.  I  bid  you  a  friendly 
farewell." 

Mr.  Connell  accepted  the  book,  saying  that  it 
illustrated  the  bible  truth,  "It  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive,"  and  he  received  it  in  the  same 
friendly  spirit  in  which  it  was  given.  Mr.  Bryan 
then  proposed  three  cheers  for  his  opponent,  "the 
able  and  gallant  defender  of  a  lost  cause."  Mr. 
Connell  returned  the  compliment. 

At  this  point  a  young  man  stepped  out  from 
the  audience  bearing  two  large  floral  designs. 
One  was  a  great  shield  faced  with  Marcheil  Neil 
roses  of  pure  white,  with  a  band  of  white  carna- 
tions, on  which  was  inscribed  the  word  "Truth." 
The  other  floral  design  was  a  sword  with  a  blade 


98 

of  white  carnations  with  the  word  "  Eloquence  " 
in  purple  extending  from  hilt  to  point.     The  hilt 
was  covered  with  red  carnations  all  fringed  with 
and  set  in  a  body  of  smilax.     In   presenting  the 
floral  tribute  the  young  man  said  :    "In  behalf  of 
the  Democrats  of  the  First  district  of  Nebraska, 
I  desire  to  say  to  Mr.  Bryan  that  we  have  watched 
with  interest  your  manly  course  and  your  courage 
upon   eleven   intellectual    battlefields  and   I    am 
commissioned  by  them  to  discharge  the  pleasant 
duty  of  presenting   these   two  emblems.     They 
show  our  respect,  admiration  and  honor  for  the 
brightest  and  purest  advocate  of  our  cause  in  Ne- 
braska.    I  present  this  shield  of  truth  as  emblem- 
atic of  that  which  has  protected  you  through  the 
series  of  debates  from  the  arrows  of  your  able 
adversary.     I  present  this  sword  as  indicative  of 
the  predominating  faculty  of  your  nature,  that  of 
eloquence.     Accept  them  as  a  tribute  from  a  loyal 
party  to  its  bravest  defender."     And  then  as  the 
emblems  were  handed  to  the   young  orator  the 
vast  audience  stood  up  and  waved  handkerchiefs 
and  hats  and  cheered  until   Mr.  Bryan  beckoned 
them  to  be  still.     He  then  gracefully  responded, 
thanking  his  friends  for  their  kindness,  and  when 
the  great  session  was  over  2,500  people  followed 
him   to   the  train,  giving  him  a  royal  ovation  all 
along  the  line. 

Mr.  Bryan  closed  his  remarkable  campaign  at 
the  city  of  Lincoln.    He  was  elected  by  a  plurality 


99 

of  6,700  in  a  district  which  two  years  before  had 
given  a  Republican  plurality  of  3,400.  It  might 
be  worthy  of  observation  right  here  that  Grover 
Cleveland's  Secretary  of  Agriculture  was  defeated 
for  Congress  in  1888  by  3,400  plurality  in  the 
same  district  which  William  J.  Bryan  carried  two 
years  later  by  a  plurality  of  6,700. 

Following  the  election  the  Omaha  World-Herald 
editorially  announced  "  Bryan  is  elected  and  he 
wins  at  the  end  of  one  of  the  fairest  and  most 
brilliant  campaigns  ever  fought.  He  will  become 
at  once  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of 
the  Lower  House,  from  the  West.  His  election  is  a 
triumph  for  principle  and  a  victory  for  brains." 


CHAPTER  IV. 
BRYAN  ENTERS  CONGRESS. 

When  Mr.  Bryan  entered  Congress  he  imme- 
diately attracted  attention,  and  his  splendid  per- 
sonality drew  men  to  him  in  Washington  exactly 
as  it  had  drawn  men  to  him  in  Nebraska.  Al- 
though it  was  unprecedented  to  give  to  a  first- 
term  member  a  position  on  the  all-important 
Ways  and  Means  Committee,  Speaker  Crisp 
conferred  that  unprecedented  honor  upon  Bryan, 
of  Nebraska.  There  was  criticism  at  this  excep- 
tion on  the  Speaker's  part.  The  St.  Louis  Republic, 
commenting  upon  \he  personelle  of  it,  said  :  "Wil- 
liam J.  Bryan,  of  Nebraska,  is  a  very  amiable  and 
a  very  enthusiastic  young  man  who,  it  is  said,  has 
made  some  reputation  on  the  stump  out  in  Ne- 
braska; but,  having  no  service  in  the  House  here- 
tofore, his  knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  tariff 
is  necessarily  limited."  But  it  was  not  long  be- 
fore the  St.  Louis  Republic,  as  well  as  all  others 
who  took  the  trouble  to  observe,  learned  that 
Bryan's  knowledge  of  the  tariff  was  about  as 
complete  as  any  man's  could  be. 

One  of  the  first  bills  which  Mr.  Bryan  intro- 
duced provided  for  the  election  of  senators  by 

the   people,  at   the   option   of  each   State.     The 
100 


101 

people  by  constitutional  enactment  to  provide  the 
manner  in  which  senators  were  to  be  chosen. 
The  bill  attracted  considerable  attention,  although 
it  failed  of  final  passage. 

During  Mr.  Bryan's  first  session  he  received 
many  invitations  to  address  gatherings  in  the 
East.  Among  his  first  speeches  of  this  character 
was  one  delivered  belore  the  Philadelphia  Young 
Men's  Association,  where  he  responded  to  the 
toast,  "The  Democracy  of  the  West,"  on  Janu- 
ary 8,  1892.  On  that  occasion  he  uttered  these 
prophetic  words  :  "  Prosperity  to  the  great  West! 
Yesterday,  the  citadel  of  Republicanism  ;  to-day, 
the  battle-ground  of  the  nation  ;  to-morrow,  and 
thereafter,  the  home  of  the  Democracy." 

Mr.  Bryan  was  one  of  the  most  active  members 
of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee.  Thomas  B. 
Reed  was  a  member  of  that  committee,  and  he  is 
exceedingly  graceful  at  repartee.  But  Mr.  Reed 
occasionally  finds  his  match.  An  interesting  inci- 
dent occurred  at  one  meeting  of  the  Ways  and 
Means  Committee  at  which  Mr.  Bryan  neatly 
turned  the  tables  on  Mr.  Reed.  The  committee 
was  in  session  when  the  bell  rang  indicating  the 
convening  of  the  House.  Mr.  Reed  arose  pon 
derously  from  his  seat  and  making  an  elaborate 
bow  to  the  committee,  the  majority  of  which,  by 
the  way,  were  Democrats,  expressed  his  regret  at 
being  compelled  to  desert  his  colleagues  in  order 
to  take  his  seat  in  the  House  to  listen  to  the 


102 

chaplain's  prayer.  "  I  trust"  said  he,  with  a  touch 
of  sarcasm,  "that  I  do  not  break  the  committee 
quorum."  "Oh,  do  not  worry  about  that,"  quickly 
retorted  Mr.  Bryan.  "You  can  leave  your  hat 
here  and  we  will  count  it  to  make  the  quorum." 
Chairman  Springer's  dignity  was  quite  upset  by 
the  roar  of  laughter  which  greeted  this  sally,  and 
Mr.  Reed,  very  red  in  the  face  but  chuckling, 
made  his  way  to  the  House. 

On  March  16,  1892  Mr.  Bryan  made  his  great 
tariff  speech  in  the  House.  And  by  that  strong 
and  eloquent  speech  he  made  himself  a  national 
figure.  It  will  be  many  a  day  before  such  a 
scene  is  re-enacted.  At  2.30  o'clock  Bryan  arose 
to  address  the  House  on  the  tariff  question,  and 
at  5.30  closed  a  speech  which  will  stand  con- 
spicuously in  the  recollections  of  thousands  of 
representatives.  It  was  such  a  speech  as  no  one 
there  expected,  but  just  such  a  speech  as  Bryan's 
friends  knew  he  would  deliver.  Hardly  that 
either,  for  Bryan,  with  all  his  good  record  on  the 
stump,  never  before  delivered  such  a  masterly 
combination  of  argument  and  rhetoric.  No 
speech  delivered  in  the  House  attracted  one- 
tenth  of  the  interest,  either  on  the  floor  or  in  the 
gallery.  No  speech  delivered  in  any  recent  Con- 
gress awoke  so  much  comment.  For  three  full 
hours  the  members  on  the  floor  and  great  crowds 
in  the  gallery  listened  intently  to  every  word,  and 
at  the  close  of  the  speech  tendered  the  young 


103 

orator  an  ovation.  When  Bryan  closed,  the 
Democratic  members  arose  en  masse,  even  before 
the  House  had  adjourned,  and  rushed  around 
the  young  exponent  of  tariff  reform,  each  running 
over  the  other  to  shake  his  hand.  From  every 
gallery  and  from  every  quarter  came  exclama- 
tions of  admiration.  From  the  people  as  they 
crowded  each  other  from  the  gallery,  came  con- 
tinued and  earnest  expressions  complimentary  to 
the  gentleman  from  Nebraska,  and  after  the 
House  had  adjourned,  great  crowds  stood  at  the 
doorways  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  new 
orator. 

When  the  doors  were  opened  many  filed 
through,  and  a  long  line  passed  Bryan,  each  man 
taking  him  by  the  hand  and  congratulating  him. 
It  was  a  long  time  before  Bryan,  weary  with  his 
great  effort,  could  tear  himself  away  and  find 
refuge  in  the  committee-room. 

Those  who  have  attended  regularly  the  con- 
gressional sessions  for  years  declared  that  at  no 
time  could  they  remember  when  a  speech  re- 
ceived such  generous  attention  and  a  speaker 
such  a  splendid  ovation.  It  was  a  great  audience, 
and  it  grew  as  Bryan  proceeded  with  his  speech. 
Within  an  hour  the  galleries  were  packed  and 
crowded  with  people  whose  interest  was  clearly 
manifested.  As  a  rule,  members  sleep  or  attend 
to  their  correspondence  while  a  tariff  speech  is 
being  made ;  but  not  so  in  this  instance.  Every- 


104 

body  woke  up.  Even  the  press  gallery  was 
crowded,  and  when  this  is  the  case  the  attraction 
must  be  great. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  two  women  sat  in  the 
gallery  adjoining  the  press.  One  of  these  turned 
to  the  other  and  asked:  "Who  speaks  on  the 
tariff  to-day?" 

"  Bryan,  of  Nebraska,"  was  the  reply. 

"Umph,  I  never  heard  of  him,"  said  the  first 
woman. 

"  This  is  his  first  term,"  said  the  second  woman. 
"  But  I  have  Republican  friends  in  Nebraska  who 
say  that  Mr.  Bryan  thinks  he  can  make  a  speech. 
I've  come  to  see." 

And  these  women  sat  there.  Both  were  in- 
terested listeners  to  the  speech,  and  when  Mr. 
Bryan  had  finished,  C.  W.  Sherman,  Editor  of 
the  Plattsmouth,  Neb.  Journal,  climbed  over  the 
gallery  seats,  and,  touching  the  second  woman 
on  the  arm,  said  :  "  Beg  pardon,  madam,  but  can  « 
you  tell  me  who  that  was  who  spoke  ? " 

"That,  sir,"  replied  the  woman,  "is  Mr.  Bryan, 
of  Nebraska,  and  he  has  made  a  good  speech,  a 
very  good  speech,  indeed."  Then  turning  to  her 
lady  friend,  the  woman  remarked  :  "  I  shall  tell 
my  Nebraska  friends  that  I  quite  agree  with  Mr. 
Bryan.  I,  too,  think  he  can  make  a  speech." 

Early  in  the  afternoon  a  man  who  had  fooled 
the  people  of  Massachusetts  in  sending  him  to 
Congress  twice,  slapped  another  member  on  the 


HON.  JAS.  K.  JONES, 
U.  8.  Senator  from  Arkansas. 


HON.  F.  M.  COCKKELL, 
U.  8.  Senator  from  Missouri. 


107 

shoulder  at  the  House  entrance  and  said :  "Come 
in  ;  a  new  member  is  going  to  -speak.  Let's  go 
in  and  see  our  boys  have  fun  with  him." 

They  went  in  ;  they  saw  the  fun;  but  they  were 
mistaken  in  the  victim.  "Our  boys"  started  to 
have  their  usual  amount  of  fun,  but  they  were 
glad  to  retire  into  the  corridor.  For  a  long  time 
Mr.  Bryan  proceeded  without  interruption.  Then 
there  was  a  whispered  consultation  among  the 
Republican  leaders,  and  one  by  one  questions 
were  fired  at  the  Nebraskan.  In  each  and  every 
instance  Bryan's  retort  brought  him  out  on  top. 
Of  the  probable  fifty  interruptions  to  which  he  was 
subjected  his  quick  wit  and  ready  logic  were 
brought  into  play  in  such  a  manner  as  to  win  the 
respect  of  the  members  and  stir  up  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  galleries. 

Not  once  did  the  interest  decrease.  At  3.30 
when  the  time  had  expired,  unanimous  consent 
was  given  to  prolong  the  treat.  Several  times 
when  the  speaker  essayed  to  close  his  address  he 
was  urged  by  his  colleagues  on  the  floor  to  con- 
tinue. It  was  an  off-hand  speech.  It  could  not 
have  been  otherwise  under  the  circumstances.  It 
was  replete  with  the  argument  for  tariff  reform, 
and  the  points  made  by  the  speaker  were  illus- 
trated by  new  and  charming  features,  which 
brought  down  the  House.  The  peroration  was 
superb,  and  when  he  said  that  time  would  come 
when  legislation  would  be  enacted  exclusively  in 


xoS 

the  people's  interest  and  declared  "  in  that  day 
Democracy  will  be  king — long  live  the  king!  "  it 
was  with  an  eloquence  that  proved  a  fitting  cli- 
max. Then  from  every  corner  of  the  great  room 
from  floor  to  gallery  came  demonstrations  of  ap 
plause,  while  the  novel  sight  was  witnessed  of 
over  200  members  rushing  around  a  colleague  to 
show  their  appreciation  of  real  ability. 

Kilgore,  of  Texas,  as  he  took  Bryan's  hand, 
declared  :  "This  is  the  first  time  I  ever  left  my 
seat  to  congratulate  a  member;  but  it  is  the  first 
time  I  ever  had  such  great  cause  to  break  the 
record." 

Burrows,  of  Michigan,  said  :  "I  am  free  to  say 
that  Bryan  made  the  best  tariff-reform  speech  I 
ever  heard." 

Beside  the  Congressman  sat  his  pretty  little 
daughter,  Ruth.  Mrs.  Bryan  was  in  the  gallery, 
and  it  would  be  strange  if  she  were  not  at  that 
moment  the  proudest  woman  in  the  world.  It  was, 
too,  a  proud  moment  for  the  several  Nebraskans 
there.  Editor  Sherman,  of  Plattsmouth,  repre- 
sented the  sentiment  of  all.  In  the  corridor  the 
great  crowd  was  waiting  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  orator  of  the  day.  Somebody  asked  : 

"  How  old  is  Bryan  ?  " 

"Thirty-five, "replied  Sherman. 

"Well,  he  has  certainly  a  future  before  him," 
said  the  first  speaker. 

"It's  the  best  speech  I  ever  heard  in  the  House," 
said  another. 


109 

When  several  similar  compliments  had  been 
uttered,  Sherman  held  his  head  a  little  bit  higher 
as  he  declared  : 

"  Gentlemen,  I  live  in  Nebraska.  We  have 
wanted  a  man  to  send  to  Congress  and  we  sent 
him.  I  want  to  tell  you  now,  that  when  Nebraska 
Democrats  pick  out  a  man  as  worthy  to  represent 
them  here  they  know  what  they  are  doing." 

"You  certainly  made  no  mistake  this  time," 
said  a  by-stander. 

The  great  newspapers  of  the  country  were  full 
of  compliments  for  "the  new  orator."  Bryan  be- 
came famous  in  a  day. 

The  New  York  World  had  the  following  head- 
lines : — 

"  Bryan  Downed  Them  All." 

"Nebraska's  Young  Congressman  Scores  a 
Triumph  in  the  House." 

"  His  Maiden  Speech  a  Brilliant  Plea  for  Tariff 
Reform." 

"Mr.  Raines,  of  New  York, -and  Messrs.  Mc- 
Kenna  and  Lind  Interrupt  Him  with  Questions 
and  are  Silenced  by  Sharp  Replies." 

"  Party  Leaders  Enthusiastically  Applaud  the 
Orator,  and  His  Speech  is  the  Talk  of  Wash- 
ington." 

Then  the  World  said  :  "When  Speaker  Crisp 
appointed  Mr.  Bryan,  of  Nebraska,  one  of  the 
committee  on  Ways  and  Means,  some  criticism 
was  made  on  the  ground  that  he  was  a  new 


no 

member  and  inexperienced  in  tariff  legislation. 
But  Mr.  Bryan,  to-day,  in  a  three-hours'  speech, 
made  the  biggest  hit  of  the  debate  and  confirmed 
the  Speaker's  judgment  of  his  ability.  No  more 
dramatic  speech  has  been  delivered  at  this  ses- 
sion. Mr.  Bryan  has  the  clear-cut  features  of  the 
Randall  type.  He  spoke  without  notes,  and  his 
barytone  voice  made  the  chamber  ring.  The  Re- 
publicans sought  to  take  advantage  of  his  inex- 
perience in  Congress  by  interrupting  him  with 
questions,  which  would  have  puzzled  much  older 
heads.  But  Mr.  Bryan  brightened  under  this 
friction  and  forced  one  Republican  after  another 
into  his  seat.  Old  campaigners  of  the  Reed 
school,  like  Raines,  of  New  York,  and  McKenna, 
of  California,  found  the  young  Nebraskan  more 
than  their  match.  A  lawyer  by  profession,  Mr. 
Bryan  argued  his  case  with  a  direct  dramatic 
directness  that  aroused  not  only  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  Democrats,  but  won  the  applause  of  the  gal- 
leries. 

"  When  Mr.  Bryan  finished,  the  galleries  ap- 
plauded for  fully  five  minutes,  and  Democrats 
and  Republicans  gathered  about  him  and  shook 
his  hand  warmly.  This  speech  has  been  a  revo- 
lution. No  new  member  has  received  such  an 
ovation  in  years.  Mr.  Bryan's  speech  was  the 
talk  of  the  town  to-night." 

The  Washington  Post  said:  "If,  like  Byron, 
Congressman  Bryan,  of  Nebraska,  does  not  wake 


Ill 

this  morning  and  find  himself  famous,  then  all  the 
eulogies  that  were  being  passed  on  him  in  hotel 
corridors  were  meaningless.  There  was  hardly 
anything  else  talked  about,  except  the  wonder- 
fully brilliant  speech  of  the  young  Nebraskan  of 
the  House." 

The  New  York  Sun  said :  "  William  Jen- 
nings Bryan,  the  young  Democratic  leader  from 
Nebraska,  whom  Speaker  Crisp  placed  on  the 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  against  the  protest  of 
a  large  element  in  the  House,  distinguished  him- 
self to-day  by  making  the  '  star '  speech  of  the 
present  session  on  the  tariff  question.  Mr. 
Bryan  astonished  his  associates  and  the  occupants 
of  the  crowded  galleries  by  an  exhibition  of 
finished  oratory  seldom  witnessed  in  the  halls  of 
Congress.  He  is  only  thirty  years  old,  is  tall  and 
well  built,  with  a  clean-shaven  face  and  jet  black 
hair.  Charley  O'Neil,  the  father  of  the  House, 
as  he  is  called,  says  Mr.  Bryan  looks  something 
as  the  late  Samuel  Jackson  Randall  looked  twenty- 
five  years  ago.  An  hour  was  given  Mr.  Bryan 
to  speak,  but  when  that  time  elapsed  there  was  a 
general  chorus  of  'Go  on,'  'Go  on,'  from  both 
sides  of  the  House.  Members  lingered  in  their 
seats  and  the  spectators  remained  in  the  galleries 
till  5.12  o'clock,  so  intent  were  they  in  hearing 
the  young  orator  from  the  West.  Not  only  was 
he  logical,  but  he  was  practical,  and  won  for  him- 
self a  place  among  the  house  orators  beside  the 


silver-toned  Breckinridge  of  Kentucky,  or  the 
calm-voiced  Henderson  of  Iowa." 

The  New  York  Herald  said  :  "As  Mr.  Bryan 
took  his  seat  he  was  the  recipient  of  hearty  con- 
gratulations from  his  party  colleagues.  Although 
this  was  his  maiden  speech,  he  showed  every 
quality  of  a  fine  orator.  No  member  who  has 
addressed  the  House  thus  far  upon  the  tariff 
question  has  received  the  same  attention  which 
was  accorded  to  the  young  Nebraskan." 

The  New  York  Times  had  this  to-day:  "For 
most  of  the  time  since  the  tariff  battle  in  the 
House  began  the  Democrats  have  been  attacking 
the  Republicans'  position  largely  with  oratorical 
fire  crackers.  Some  of  these  explosives  made  a 
merry  crackling,  but  not  enough  of  it  fully  to 
wake  up  the  deliberate  body,  and  certainly  not 
enough  fully  to  arrest  the  attention  of  many  per- 
sons out  of  the  House.  To-day,  almost  with  the 
effect  of  an  ambuscade,  the  Democrats  uncovered 
a  ten-inch  gun,  and  for  two  hours  shelled  the 
surprised  enemy  so  effectively,  that  the  protec- 
tionist batteries,  at  first  manned  with  spirit,  but 
supplied  with  very  light  guns,  were  silenced,  Gun- 
ner Raines  (Republican,  New  York),  coming  out 
of  the  engagement  with  a  badly-battered  muzzle, 
and  with  the  conviction,  probably,  that  he  would  be 
compelled  next  time  to  put  in  more  powder  and 
employ  newer  and  more  modern  projectiles. 

"  The  man  who  to-day  ceased  to  be  a  new  and 


"3 

young  unknown  member,  and  jumped  at  once 
into  the  position  of  the  best  tariff  speaker  in  ten 
years  was  Representative  Bryan,  Democrat,  of 
Nebraska.  To  be  a  representative  from  Nebraska 
implies  a  condition  of  revolution  in  that  State;  but 
it  also  means  something  more  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Bryan  that  was  not  suspected  before  by  those  who 
are  not  familiar  with  his  reputation  at  home. 
Some  of  the  men  who  supported  Mills  were  in 
doubt  at  the  time  of  the  caucus  about  his  sound- 
ness generally,  as  he  was  one  of  the  four  Springer 
men  who  stuck  to  Springer  after  '  the  last  button 
was  off  his  coat,'  and  when  the  votes  of  the  four 
would  have  elected  Mills  instead  of  Crisp.  After 
his  speech  of  to-day  there  can  be  no  doubt  about 
where  he  stands  on  the  tariff  question.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  about  this  power  of  oratory  and  argu- 
ment, and  Mr.  Raines,  who  is  apt  at  a  certain  shal- 
low sort  of  sophistical  cross-questioning,  will  prob- 
ably admit  that  Mr.  Bryan  is  able  to  hold  his  own 
with  a  veteran  in  the  black-horse  cavalry.  For  two 
hours  and  a  half  Mr.  Bryan  held  the  floor  and  his 
audience,  being  urged  to  go  on  after  his  hour  had 
expired,  and  being  inspired  to  still  further  continue 
by  shouts  of  'Goon,'  'Go  on, 'when  he  indica- 
ted a  modest  desire  to  bring  his  long  speech  to  a 
close. 

"  Having  a  graceful  figure,  a  little  above  the 
average  height,  Mr.  Bryan  is  not  unlike  Carlisle 
in  feature,  but  not  so  spare.  His  face  is  smooth 


shaved  and  the  features  are  strong  and  well 
marked.  His  voice  is  clear  and  strong,  his  lan- 
guage plain  but  not  lacking  in  grace.  He  uses 
illustrations  effectively,  and  he  employs  humor 
and  sarcasm  with  admirable  facility.  The  applause 
that  greeted  him  was  as  spontaneous  as  it  was 
genuine." 

On  April  5,  1892,  Mr.  Springer,  Chairman  of 
the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  was  to  address 
the  House  on  the  tariff  bill.  Mr.  Springer  had 
been  seriously  ill  and  was  admonished  by  his 
physician  not  to  make  the  effort.  He  came  to 
the  House  on  that  day,  however,  and  paid  Mr. 
Bryan  the  compliment  of  inviting  him  to  read  his, 
Mr.  Springer's,  address  on  the  tariff  question. 

In  the  spring  of  1892,  evidences  of  the  hostile 
silver  sentiment  had  begun  to  manifest  themselves 
among  certain  leaders  of  the  Nebraska  Democ- 
racy. The  State  Convention  to  elect  delegates 
to  the  National  Democratic  Convention  had  been 
called  for  April  15,  1892.  Mr.  Bryan  announced 
from  Washington  that  he  would  attend  that  con- 
vention for  the  purpose  of  introducing  a  free-silver 
plank  into  the  platform.  It  was  evident  that  this 
act  would  create  considerable  trouble,  and  Mr. 
Bryan  was  urged  by  many  Democrats  not  to  do 
it.  He  refused  to  be  dissuaded,  however,  from 
what  he  regarded  as  his  plain  duty,  when  he  went 
to  Omaha.  That  convention  marked  the  begin, 
ning  of  Bryan's  determined  efforts  to  place  the 


"5 

Nebraska  Democracy  right  on  the  money  question. 
He  introduced  his  plank  favoring  the  free  coinage 
of  silver  and  was  opposed  by  most  of  the  old-time 
leaders  of  the  party  in  Nebraska.  It  was  a  bitter 
contest.  Bryan  presented  his  cause  with  that 
eloquence  and  spirit  that  has  made  him  famous  ; 
and  during  the  entire  day  the  battle  raged.  In 
speaking  upon  this  plank,  Mr.  Bryan  said  among 
other  things  : 

"  I  am  here  on  a  painful  duty.  I  came  to  agree 
with  all  that  has  been  said  and  to  ask  the  adoption 
of  the  principle  which  has  been  a  part  of  our 
platform  heretofore,  and  I  do  not  believe  it  is 
good  policy  to  drop  now  as  a  Democratic  tenet. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Bryan,  "I  do  not  believe 
it  is  noble  to  dodge  any  issue.  It  was  dodging 
that  defeated  Republicanism  in  Nebraska.  If,  as 
has  been  indicated,  this  may  have  an  effect  on  my 
campaign,  then  no  bridegroom  went  with  gladder 
heart  to  greet  his  bride  than  I  shall  welcome  de- 
feat. It  has  been  said  that  God  hates  a  coward, 
and  I  believe  it  is  true.  Vote  this  down  if  you 
do  not  approve  it,  but  do  not  dodge  it,  for  that  is 
not  democratic." 

The  first  vote  on  Bryan's  minority  report  was 
announced:  267  for,  237  against.  It  was  a  clean- 
cut  victory  for  bimetallism. 

And  that  convention  went  mad — absolutely  in- 
sane. Mr.  Bryan  tried  to  soothe  things.  It  was  im- 
possible. At  last  it  was  decided  to  call  another  vote. 


n6 

Governor  Boyd  opposed  a  recount.  Con- 
gressman Bryan  asked  for  it,  and  the  Chairman, 
who  had  already  proposed  it,  found  a  sentiment 
almost  unanimous  in  favor  of  it. 

The  recount  was  taken  amid  much  excitement, 
and  the  Chairman  finally  announced  its  result : 

"Two  hundred  and  twenty-nine,  yes." 

"Two  hundred  and  forty-seven,  no." 

The  majority  report  on  platform  was  then  duly 
adopted  and  the  rejected  free-silver  plank  laid 
carefully  aside. 

But  Bryan's  silver  plank  had  been  "counted 
out." 

From  that  moment  Mr.  Bryan  had  incurred  the 
hostility  of  the  Cleveland  administration,  and 
from  that  moment  that  administration  showed 
him  no  mercy,  and  no  quarter.  But  it  was 
characteristic  of  Mr.  Bryan  that  he  asked  no 
mercy  and  accepted  no  quarter. 

On  June  17,  1892,  Mr.  Bryan  addressed  the 
students  of  Ann  Harbor,  in  reply  to  a  speech 
made  there  by  Mr.  McKinley,  one  month  previ- 
ous. The  question  was  the  tariff,  and  it  was 
generally  conceded  that  Mr.  Bryan's  effort  more 
than  matched  that  of  his  distinguished  opponent. 

On  June  20,  1892,  at  Nebraska  City,  Mr. 
Bryan  was  re-nominated  for  Congress  by  accla- 
mation. 

Mr.  Bryan's  platform  on  that  occasion  de- 
nounced "  unjust  tariff  laws  and  oppressive  finan- 


cial  policy  ;"  declared  for  tariff  for  revenue  only  ; 
favored  an  income  tax  ;  condemned  bounties  and 
subsidies  of  every  kind  ;  declared  in  favor  of  the 
double  standard  of  gold  and  silver  money ;  de- 
nounced the  demonetization  of  silver  in  1873; 
advocated  the  re-establishment  of  silver  to  its 
honored  place  of  free  coinage,  occupied  by  it 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Government  up  to  1873. 
That  platform  favored  the  election  of  senators  by 
the  people  ;  favored  liberal  pensions  to  disabled 
veterans  ;  reiterated  the  plank  in  the  platform  on 
which  Mr.  Bryan  was  first  nominated,  that  plank 
opposing  caucus  dictation. 

In  the  meantime  the  Legislature  had  re-dis- 
tricted the  congressional  districts  of  the  State. 
Omaha  was  taken  out  of  Bryan's  district  and  his 
new  district  was  so  arranged  that  under  ordinary 
circumstances  the  Republicans  would  have  an 
overwhelming  majority.  It  was  believed  by  Re- 
publican leaders  that  with  this  re-apportionment, 
Bryan's  defeat  could  be  accomplished. 

The  Republican  party  nominated  Allen  W. 
Field,  then  Judge  of  the  District  Court,  and  a 
resident  of  the  city  of  Lincoln. 

A  series  of  debates  were  arranged  between  tte 
contestants.  This  was  probably  the  most  interest- 
ing series  of  debates  in  the  history  of  Nebraska. 
Although  Mr.  Field  was  a  strong  man  and  de- 
fended his  cause  well,  the  contest  was  one  trium 
phal  march  for  Bryan.  At  every  meeting  place 


n8 

people  went  wild  in  their  demonstrations  in  behalf 
of  the  young  orator.  At  Auburn,  for  instance, 
when  the  contest  was  concluded  a  crowd  of  Re- 
publicans rushed  to  the  platform  to  shake  Mr. 
Field's  hand.  And  they  shook  it  heartily.  But 
right  here  is  where  the  difference  was  to  be 
noticed.  The  crowd  around  Mr.  Field  numbered 
perhaps  fifty  men.  At  the  front  of  the  platform 
a  great  scene  was  being  enacted.  There  was 
Bryan  stooping  with  outstretched  hands  to  grasp 
the  hands  of  at  least  2,000  people  who  were 
crowding  over  each  other  to  greet  him.  The 
farmers  and  their  wives,  the  laborers  and  their 
sisters  and  their  cousins  and  their  aunts  all  pressed 
forward  to  shake  the  hand  of  the  man  who  will 
succeed  himself  as  their  representative.  Children 
were  raised  up  to  clasp  the  hand  of  the  man,  who, 
by  his  great  ability  and  courage,  had  become  en- 
shrined in  the  hearts  of  the  masses  in  his  district. 
It  was  a  glorious  reception  to  a  public  servant. 

At  Nebraska  City  5,000  people  had  assembled 
on  the  Court  House  Square  to  hear  the  debate. 
Bryan's  close  was  a  mighty  speech.  It  was  as 
clean  cut  a  talk  as  was  ever  heard.  When  he 
concluded,  the  greatest  demonstration  ever  wit- 
nessed in  Nebraska  was  seen.  The  audience 
seemed  to  rise  en  masse  and  rush  to  the  platform. 
The  great  scene  enacted  at  Auburn  was  repeated, 
only  it  was  nine  times  greater.  Farmers  and 
laboring  men  cheered  themselves  hoarse.  Half 


119 

a  hundred  women  stood  upon  chairs  and  waved 
their  handkerchiefs.  Three  cheers  were  given 
Bryan  and  repeated  fifty  times.  For  half  an  hour 
he  stood  on  the  platform  and  shook  hands  with 
his  delighted  constituents. 

The  people  refused  to  leave  the  grounds  until, 
weary  and  exhausted,  Mr.  Bryan  left  the  place, 
followed  by  a  great  crowd  of  people.  The  scenes 
were  simply  indescribable.  It  was  the  best 
ovation  ever  received  ;  the  greatest  triumph  ever 
won  by  a  public  man.  The  scene  will  never  be 
forgotten  in  Nebraska  City  and  must  long  be  re- 
membered by  Bryan  as  among  the  most  valuable 
tributes  in  his  career.  A  great  crowd  followed 
Bryan  to  his  hotel,  cheering  him  all  the  way. 

At  Weeping  Water,  when  Bryan  closed,  the 
scene  in  Nebraska  City  was  in  part  repeated.  In 
this  instance  probably  fifty  people  came  forward 
to  shake  Mr.  Field  by  the  hand,  but  it  seemed 
that  the  entire  audience  arose  to  greet  Mr.  Bryan. 
The  town  people  and  the  farmers  crowded  over 
each  other  to  shake  the  young  congressman's 
hand.  At  first  Bryan  stood  upon  the  platform, 
and  bending  down  grasped  the  many  hundreds 
of  hands  advanced  to  him. 

But  the  great  throng  of  his  admirers  increased 
and  the  young  orator  was  literally  dragged  from 
the  platform  and  for  thirty  yards  he  was  crowded 
here  and  there,  surged  by  the  crowd,  every  mem- 
ber of  which  seemed  anxious  to  shake  his  hand, 


120 

The  ovation  extended  to  Bryan  was  so  marked 
that  many  deeply  sympathized  with  Mr.  Field.  At 
every  step  from  the  grove  Bryan  was  heartily 
cheered,  and  though  this  was  a  Republican  pre- 
cinct Bryan  fairly  captured  everything  in  sight. 
At  the  start  the  crowd  seemed  to  be  against 
Bryan.  At  the  close  of  the  debate  Bryan  owned 
the  earth,  and  had  he  desired  a  fence  to  be  built 
around  it,  it  was  but  necessary  for  him  to  say  the 
word. 

At  all  other  points  similar  scenes  were  enacted. 
At  the  city  of  Lincoln,  October  12,  1892,  Bryan 
won  another  distinct  triumph,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  debate  a  handful  of  people  grasped  the  hand 
of  Judge  Field,  but  it  required  half  an  hour  for 
Bryan  to  half  complete  the  task  of  greeting  his 
friends.  A  handsome  floral  piece  was  on  the 
stand,  the  design  being  a  pair  of  scales.  It  was 
the  tribute  of  the  young  congressman's  Lincoln 
friends. 

The  closing  session  of  the  debate  was  an  over- 
whelming triumph  for  Bryan,  in  perfect  keeping 
with  his  splendid  victory  in  every  previous  meet- 
ing with  his  opponent. 

The  Republicans  made  desperate  efforts  to  ac- 
complish Bryan's  defeat.  Speakers  of  national 
renown  poured  into  the  district  and  large  sums  of 
money  were  expended  against  Bryan  in  all  coun- 
ties in  the  district.  But  in  spite  of  all  these 
efforts  in  the  district,  which  had  been  arranged  to 


121 

give  a  Republican  candidate  from  4,000  to  5,000 
majority,  Mr.  Bryan  was  re-elected  by  a  majority 
of  152. 

Commenting  upon  this  triumph  the  Omaha 
World-Herald  said  editorially  : — 

"The  more  one  thinks  of  Bryan's  re-election 
the  more  wonderful  it  seems. 

"  In  the  face  of  overwhelming  opposition,  which 
was  aided  by  such  speakers  as  McKinley,  For- 
aker  and  Thurston  ;  in  spite  of  a  district,  not  one 
county  of  which  was  or  went  Democratic — a  dis- 
trict in  which  Harrison  had  more  votes  than 
Cleveland  and  Weaver  combined,  and  which  was 
on  a  congressional  fight  several  thousand  Repub- 
lican ;  in  spite  of  boodle  freely  spent  by  the  Re- 
publicans, and  in  spite  of  a  third  candidate  run- 
ning as  a  decoy  duck  for  his  principal  opponent, 
Bryan  is  a  victor  by  a  majority  of  140. 

"  He  deserved  and  got  the  votes  of  both  Inde- 
pendents and  Republicans,  and  his  election  is  a 
splendid  tribute  to  the  qualities  which  caused  his 
selection  both  times  for  congressional  honors,  and 
which  in  one  Washington  session  made  him  the 
most  prominent  man  on  the  floor  of  the  House 
of  Representatives. 

"Looking  over  the  whole  November  fight,  there 
is  no  more  remarkable  or  brilliant  victory  than 
that  won  in  the  First  Nebraska  District." 


CHAPTER    V. 
BRYAN  AS  "  ELAND'S  LIEUTENANT." 

When  Mr.  Bryan  entered  upon  his  second  term 
in  Congress  the  money  question  had  come  to  be 
recognized  generally  as  the  great  question  of  the 
day.  It  was  known  that  the  Hon.  Richard  P. 
Bland,  of  Missouri,  who  for  twenty  years  had 
fought  the  battles  of  bimetallism,  would  lead  the 
fight  in  the  then  coming  contest.  It  was  also  an- 
nounced that  Mr.  Bryan  would  be  one  of  Mr. 
Eland's  lieutenants. 

Mr.  Bryan  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Silver 
Conference,  held  in  Chicago,  August  i,  1893,  and 
addressed  that  gathering  August  16,  1893. 

Mr.  Bryan  addressed  the  House  in  opposition 
to  the  bill  to  repeal  the  purchasing  clause  of  the 
Sherman  Act.  From  that  great  speech,  which 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  strongest  ever  de- 
livered in  the  House,  the  following  extracts  are 
taken  : 

"MR.  SPEAKER:  I  shall  accomplish  my  full  pur- 
pose if  I  am  able  to  impress  upon  the  members 
of  the  House  the  far-reaching  consequences  which 
may  follow  our  action  and  quicken  their  apprecia- 
tion of  the  grave  responsibility  which  presses  upon 

(122) 


123 

us.  Historians  tell  us  that  the  victory  of  Charles 
Martel  at  Tours  determined  the  history  of  all 
Europe  for  centuries.  It  was  a  contest  'between 
the  Crescent  and  the  Cross,'  and  when,  on  that 
fateful  day,  the  Prankish  prince  drove  back  the 
followers  of  Abderrahman,  he  rescued  the  West 
from  '  the  all-destroying  grasp  of  Islam,'  and 
saved  Europe  its  Christian  civilization.  A  greater 
than  Tours  is  here  !  In  my  humble  judgment  the 
vote  of  this  House  on  the  subject  under  consid- 
eration may  bring  to  the  people  of  the  West  and 
South,  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  to 
all  mankind,  weal  or  woe  beyond  the  power  of 
language  to  describe  or  imagination  to  con- 
ceive. 

"  In  the  princely  palace  and  in  the  humblest 
hamlet ;  by  the  financier  and  by  the  poorest  toiler; 
here,  in  Europe  and  everywhere,  the  proceedings 
of  this  Congress  upon  this  problem  will  be  read 
and  studied ;  and  as  our  actions  bless  or  blight 
we  shall  be  commended  or  condemned.  *  * 

"  Rollin  tells  us  that  the  third  Punic  war  was 
declared  by  the  Romans  and  that  a  messenger 
was  sent  to  Carthage  to  announce  the  declaration 
after  the  army  had  started  on  its  way.  The  Car- 
thaginians at  once  sent  representatives  to  treat 
for  peace.  The  Romans  first  demanded  the  de- 
livery of  three  hundred  hostages  before  they 
would  enter  into  negotiations.  When  three  hun- 

o 

dred  sons  of  the  nobles  had  been  given  into  the** 


124 

hands  they  demanded  the  surrender  of  all  the 
arms  and  implements  of  war  before  announcing 
the  terms  of  the  treaty.  The  conditions  were 
sorrowfully  but  promptly  complied  with,  and  the 
people  who  boasted  of  a  Hannibal  and  Hamilcar 
gave  up  to  their  ancient  enemies  every  weapon  of 
offense  and  defense.  Then  the  Roman  consul, 
rising  up  before  the  humiliated  representatives  of 
Carthage,  said : 

"  '  I  cannot  but  commend  you  for  the  readiness 
with  which  you  have  obeyed  every  order.  The 
decree  of  the  Roman  Senate  is  that  Carthage 
shall  be  destroyed.' 

"  Sirs,  what  will  be  the  answer  of  the  people 
whom  you  represent,  who  are  wedded  to  the  '  gold 
and  silver  coinage  of  the  Constitution,'  if  you  vote 
for  unconditional  repeal  and  return  to  tell  them 
that  you  were  commended  for  the  readiness  with 
which  you  obeyed  every  order,  but  that  Congress 
has  decreed  that  one-half  of  the  people's  metallic 
money  shall  be  destroyed?  [Applause.] 

"They  demand  unconditional  surrender,  do 
they  ?  Why,  sirs,  we  are  the  ones  to  grant  terms. 
Standing  by  the  pledges  of  all  the  parties  in  this 
country,  backed  by  the  history  of  a  hundred 
years,  sustained  by  the  most  sacred  interests  of 
humanity  itself,  we  demand  an  unconditional  sur- 
render of  the  principle  of  gold  monometallism  as 
the  first  condition  of  peace.  [Applause.]  You 
demand  surrender !  Ay,  sirs,  you  may  cry  '  Peace, 


peace/  but  there  is  no  peace.  Just  so  long  as 
there  are  people  here  who  would  chain  this  country 
to  a  single  gold  standard,  there  is  war — eternal 
war;  and  it  might  just  as  well  be  known  now! 
[Loud  applause  on  the  Democratic  side.]  I  have 
said  that  we  stand  by  the  pledges  of  all  platforms. 
Let  me  quote  them : 

"  The  Populist  platform  adopted  by  the  national 
convention  in  1892  contained  these  words: 

"  '  We  demand  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  sil- 
ver and  gold  at  the  present  legal  ratio  of  1 6  to  i/ 

"As  the  members  of  that  party,  both  in  the 
Senate  and  in  the  House,  stand  ready  to  carry 
out  the  pledge  there  made,  no  appeal  to  them  is 
necessary. 

"The  Republican  national  platform  adopted  in 
1888  contains  this  plank: 

"  '  The  Republican  party  is  in  favor  of  the  use  of 
both  gold  and  silver  as  money  and  condemns  the 
policy  of  the  Democratic  administration  in  its  ef- 
fort to  demonetize  silver/ 

"The  same  party  in  1892  adopted  a  platform 
containing  the  following  language : 

" '  The  American  people  from  tradition  and  in- 
terest favor  bimetallism,  and  the  Republican  party 
demands  the  use  of  both  °fold  and  silver  as  stand- 

o 

ard  money,  such  restrictions  to  be  determined 
by  contemplation  of  values  of  the  two  metals,  so 
that  the  purchasing  and  debt-paying  power  of  the 


126 

dollar,  whether  of  silver,  gold,  or  paper,  shall  be 
equal  at  all  times. 

" '  The  interests  of  the  producers  of  the  country, 
its  farmers  and  its  workingmen,  demand  that  every 
dollar,  paper  or  gold,  issued  by  the  Government, 
shall  be  as  good  as  any  other.  We  commend  the 
wise  and  patriotic  steps  already  taken  by  our 
Government  to  secure  an  international  parity  of 
value  between  gold  and  silver  for  use  as  money 
throughout  the  world.' 

"Are  the  Republican  members  of  this  House 
ready  to  abandon  the  system  which  the  American 
people  favor  '  from  tradition  and  interest  ?  '  Hav- 
ing won  a  Presidential  election  upon  a  platform 
which  condemned  '  the  policy  of  the  Democratic 
administration  in  its  efforts  to  demonetize  silver,' 
are  they  ready  to  join  in  that  demonetization  ? 
Having  advocated  the  Sherman  law  because  it 
gave  an  increased  use  of  silver,  are  they  ready  to 
repeal  it  and  make  no  provisions  for  silver  at 
all  ?  Are  they  willing  to  go  before  the  country 
confessing  that  they  secured  the  present  law  by 
sharp  practice,  and  only  adopted  it  as  an  ingenious 
device  for  preventing  free  coinage,  to  be  repealed 
as  soon  as  the  hour  of  danger  was  passed? 

"The  Democratic  platform  of  1880  contained 
these  words : 

'"Honest  money,  consisting  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  paper  convertible  into  coin  on  demand.' 

"It  would  seem  that  at  that  time  silver  was  han- 


127 

est  money,  although  the  bullion  value  was  con- 
siderably below  the  coinage  value. 

"In  1884  tne  Democratic  platform  contained 
this  plank : 

" '  We  believe  in  honest  money,  the  gold  and 
silver  coinage  of  the  Constitution,  and  a  circu- 
ating  medium  convertible  into  such  money  with- 
out loss.' 

"  It  would  seem  that  at  thai  time  silver  was  con- 
sidered honest  money. 

"  In  1888  the  Democratic  party  did  not  express 
itself  on  the  money  question  except  by  saying: 

"  '  It  renewed  the  pledge  of  its  fidelity  to  Demo- 
cratic faith,  and  reaffirms  the  platform  adopted  by 
its  representatives  in  the  convention  of  1884.' 

"Since  the  platform  of  1884  commended  silver  as 
an  honest  money,  we  must  assume  that  the  re- 
affirming of  that  platform  declared  anew  that 
silver  was  honest  money  as  late  as  1888,  although 
at  that  time  its  bullion  value  had  fallen  still  more. 

"The  last  utterance  of  a  Democratic  nati  ->nal 
convention  upon  this  subject  is  contained  in  the 
platform  adopted  at  Chicago  in  1892.  It  is  as 
follows : 

"'We  denounce  the  Republican  legislation  known 
as  the  Sherman  act  of  1890  as  a  cowardly  make- 
shift, fraught  with  possibilities  of  danger  in  the 
future,  which  should  make  all  of  its  supporters,  as 
well  as  its  author,  anxious  for  its  speedy  repeal. 
We  hold  to  the  use  of  both  gold  and  silver  as 


128 

the  standard  money  of  the  country,  and  to  the 
coinage  of  both  orold  and  silver  without  discrimi- 

o  o 

nation  against  either  metal  or  charge  for  mintage, 
but  the  dollar  unit  of  coinage  of  both  metals  must 
be  of  equal  intrinsic  and  exchangeable  value  or  be 
adjusted  through  international  agreement,  or  by 
such  safeguards  of  legislation  as  shall  insure  the 
maintenance  of  the  parity  of  the  two  metals,  and 
the  equal  power  of  every  dollar  at  all  times  in  the 
markets  and  in  the  payment  of  debts ;  and  we 
demand  that  all  paper  currency  shall  be  kept  at 
par  with  and  redeemable  in  such  coin.  We  insist 
upon  this  policy  as  especially  necessary  for  the 
protection  of  the  farmers  and  laboring  classes,  the 
first  and  most  defenseless  victims  of  unstable 
money  and  a  fluctuating  currency.' 

"  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  gold  and  silver  have 
been  indissolubly  linked  together  in  our  platforms. 
Never  in  the  history  of  the  party  has  it  taken  a 
position  in  favor  of  a  gold  standard.  On  every 
vote  taken  in  the  House  and  Senate  a  majority 
of  the  party  have  been  recorded  not  only  in  favor 
of  bimetallism,  but  for  the  free  and  unlimited 
coinage  of  gold  and  silver  at  the  ratio  of  16  to  i. 

"  The  last  platform  pledges  us  to  the  use  of  both 
metals  as  standard  money  and  to  the  free  coinage 
of  both  metals  at  a  fixed  ratio.  Does  any  one  be- 
lieve that  Mr.  Cleveland  could  have  been  elected 
President  upon  a  platform  declaring  in  favor  of 
the  unconditional  repeal  of  the  Sherman  law  ? 


129 

Can  we  go  back  to  our  people  and  tell  them  that, 
after  denouncing  for  twenty  years  the  crime  of 
1873,  we  have  at  last  accepted  it  as  a  blessing? 
Shall  bimetallism  receive  its  deathblow  in  the 
house  of  its  friends,  and  in  the  very  hall  where 
innumerable  vows  have  been  registered  in  its  de- 
fense ?  What  faith  can  be  placed  in  platforms  if 
their  pledges  can  be  violated  with  impunity  ?  Is 
it  right  to  rise  above  the  power  which  created  us  ? 
Is  it  patriotic  to  refuse  that  legislation  in  favor  of 
gold  and  silver  which  a  majority  of  the  people 
have  always  demanded  ?  Is  it  necessary  to  betray 
all  parties  in  order  to  treat  this  subject  in  a  '  non- 
partisan  '  way  ? 

"  The  President  has  recommended  unconditional 
repeal.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  that  he  is  honest 
— so  were  the  mothers,  who,  with  misguided  zeal, 
threw  their  children  into  the  Ganges.  The  ques- 
tion is  not  " Is  he  honest?"  but  "Is  he  right?" 
He  won  the  confidence  of  the  toilers  of  this  coun- 
try because  he  taught  that  '  public  office  is  a 
public  trust,'  and  because  he  convinced  them  of 
his  courage  and  his  sincerity.  But  are  they  will- 
ing to  say,  in  the  language  of  Job,  '  Though  He 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  Him?'  Whence  comes 
this  irresistible  demand  for  unconditional  repeal? 
Are  not  the  representatives  here  as  near  to  the 
people  and  as  apt  to  know  their  wishes  ?  Whence 
comes  the  demand  ?  Not  from  the  workshop  and 
the  farm,  not  from  the  workingmen  of  this  country, 


130 

who  create  its  wealth  in  time  of  peace  and  protect 
its  flag  in  time  of  war,  but  from  the  middlemen, 
from  what  are  termed  the  '  business  interests,' 
and  largely  from  that  class  which  can  force  Con- 
gress to  let  it  issue  money  at  a  pecuniary  profit  to 
itself  if  silver  is  abandoned.  The  President  has 
been  deceived.  He  can  no  more  judge  the  wishes 
of  the  great  mass  of  our  people  by  the  expressions 
of  these  men  than  he  can  measure  the  ocean's 
silent  depths  by  the  foam  upon  its  waves. 

"  Mr.  Powderly,  who  spoke  at  Chicago  a  few 
days  ago  in  favor  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at 
the  present  ratio  and  against  the  unconditional 
repeal  of  the  Sherman  law,  voiced  the  sentiment 
of  more  laboring  men  than  have  ever  addressed 
the  President  or  this  House  in  favor  of  repeal. 
Go  among  the  agricultural  classes  ;  go  among  the 
poor,  whose  little  is  as  precious  to  them  as  the 
rich  man's  fortune  is  to  him,  and  whose  families 
are  as  dear,  and  you  will  not  find  the  haste  to 
destroy  the  issue  of  money  or  the  unfriendliness 
to  silver  which  is  manifested  in  money  centers. 

"  This  question  can  not  be  settled  by  typewritten 
recommendations  and  suggestions  made  by  boards 
of  trade  and  sent  broadcast  over  the  United 
States.  It  can  only  be  settled  by  the  great  mass 
of  the  voters  of  this  country  who  stand  like  the 
Rock  of  Gibraltar  for  the  use  of  both  gold  and 
silver.  (Applause.) 


"There  are  thousands,  yes,  tens  of  thousands, 
aye,  even  millions,  who  have  not  yet  '  bowed  the 
knee  to  Baal.'  Let  the  President  take  courage. 
Muehlbach  relates  an  incident  in  the  life  of  the 
great  military  hero  of  France.  At  Marengo  the 
Man  of  Destiny,  sad  and  disheartened,  thought  the 
battle  lost.  He  called  to  a  drummer  boy  and 
ordered  him  to  beat  a  retreat.  The  lad  replied  : 

"  '  Sire,  I  do  not  know  how  :  Dessaix  has  never 
taught  me  retreat,  but  I  can  beat  a  charge.  Oh, 
I  can  beat  a  charge  that  would  make  the  dead  fall 
into  line !  !  beat  that  charge  at  the  Bridge  of 
Lodi ;  1  beat  it  at  Mount  Tabor ;  I  beat  it  at  the 
Pyramids.  Oh,  may  I  beat  it  here  ?  ' 

"  The  charge  was  ordered,  the  battle  won,  and 
Marengo  was  added  to  the  victories  of  Napoleon. 
Oh,  let  our  gallant  leader  draw  inspiration  from 
the  street  £amin  of  Paris.  In  the  face  of  an  enemv 

O  ' 

proud  and  confident  the  President  has  wavered. 
Engaged  in  the  battle  royal  between  the  '  money 
power  and  the  common  people  '  he  has  ordered  a 
retreat.  Let  him  not  be  dismayed. 

"  He  has  won  greater  victories  than  Napoleon, 
for  he  is  a  warrior  who  has  conquered  without  a 
sword.  He  restored  fidelity  in  the  public  service  ; 
he  converted  Democratic  hope  into  realization  ; 
he  took  up  the  banner  of  tariff  reform  and  carried 
it  to  triumph.  Let  him  continue  that  greater  fight 
for  the  'gold  and  silver  coinage  of  the  Constitu- 
tion,' to  which  three  national  platforms  have 


132 

pledged  him.  Let  his  clarion  voice  call  the  party 
hosts  to  arms ;  let  him  but  speak  the  language  of 
the  Senator  from  Texas,  in  reply  to  those  who 
would  destroy  the  use  of  silver : 

"  'In  this  hour  fraught  with  peril  to  the  whole 
country,  I  appeal  to  the  unpurchased  representa- 
tives of  the  American  people  to  meet  this  bold 
and  insolent  demand  like  men.  Let  us  stand  in 
the  breach  and  call  the  battle  on  and  never  leave 
the  field  until  the  people's  money  shall  be  restored 
to  the  mints  on  equal  terms  with  gold,  as  it  was 
years  ago.' 

"  Let  this  command  be  given,  and  the  air  will 
resound  with  the  tramp  of  men  scarred  in  a  score 
of  battles  for  the  people's  rights.  Let  this  com- 
mand be  given  and  this  Marengo  will  be  our 
glory  and  not  our  shame.  [Applause  on  the 
floor  and  in  the  galleries.] 

"Well  has  it  been  said  by  the  Senator  from 
Missouri  [Mr.  Vest]  that  we  have  come  to  the 
parting  of  the  ways.  To-day  the  Democratic 
party  stands  between  two  great  forces,  each  in- 
viting its  support.  On  the  one  side  stand  the 
corporate  interests  of  the  nation,  its  moneyed  in- 
stitutions, its  aggregations  of  wealth  and  capital, 
imperious,  arrogant,  compassionless.  They  de- 
mand special  legislation,  favors,  privileges  and 
immunities.  They  can  subscribe  magnificently  to 
campaign  funds;  they  can  strike  down  opposition 
with  their  all-pervading  influence,  and,  to  those 


133 

who  fawn  and  flatter,  bring  ease  and  plenty. 
They  demand  that  the  Democratic  party  shall  be- 
come their  agent  to  execute  their  merciless  de- 
crees. 

"  On  the  other  side  stands  that  unnumbered 
throng  which  gave  a  name  to  the  Democratic 
party  and  for  which  it  has  assumed  to  speak. 
Work-worn  and  dust-begrimed,  they  make  their 
sad  appeal.  They  hear  of  average  wealth  in- 
creased on  every  side  and  feel  the  inequality  of  its 
distribution.  They  see  an  over-production  of 
everything  desired,  because  of  the  under-produc- 
tion of  the  ability  to  buy.  They  can  not  pay  for 
loyalty  except  with  their  suffrages,  and  can  only 
punish  betrayal  with  their  condemnation.  Al- 
though the  ones  who  most  deserve  the  fostering 
care  of  government,  their  cries  for  help  too  often 
beat  in  vain  against  the  outer  wall,  while  others 
less  deserving  find  ready  access  to  legislative 
halls. 

"  This  army,  vast  and  daily  vaster  growing,  begs 
the  party  to  be  its  champion  in  the  present  con- 
flict. It  cannot  press  its  claims  'mid  sounds  of 
revelry.  Its  phalanxes  do  not  form  in  grand 
parade,  nor  has  it  gaudy  banners  floating  on  the 
breeze.  Its  battle  hymn  is  "  Home,  Sweet  Home," 
its  war  cry  "  Equality  before  the  law."  To  the 
Democratic  party,  standing  between  these  two 
irreconcilable  forces,  uncertain  to  which  side  to 
turn,  and  conscious  that  upon  its  choice  its  fate 


134 

depends,  come  the  words  of  Israel's  second  law- 
giver :  '  Choose  you  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve.' 
What  will  the  answer  be  ?  Let  me  invoke  the 
memory  of  him  whose  dust  made  sacred  the  soil 
of  Monticello  when  he  joined 

" '  The  dead  but  sceptered  sovereigns  who  still  rule 
Our  spirits  from  their  urns.' 

"  He  was  called  a  demagogue  and  his  followers 
a  mob,  but  the  immortal  Jefferson  dared  to  follow 
the  best  promptings  of  his  heart.  He  placed 
man  above  matter,  humanity  above  property,  and, 
spurning  the  bribes  of  wealth  and  power,  pleaded 
the  cause  of  the  common  people.  It  was  this  de- 
votion to  their  interests  which  made  his  party  in- 
vincible while  he  lived,  and  will  make  his  name 
revered  while  history  endures.  And  what  mes- 
sage comes  to  us  from  the  Hermitage  ?  When  a 

o  & 

crisis  like  the  present  arose  and  the  national  bank 
of  his  day  sought  to  control  the  politics  of  the 
nation,  God  raised  up  an  Andrew  Jackson,  who 
had  the  courage  to  grapple  with  that  great  enemy, 
and,  by  overthrowing  it,  he  made  himself  the  idol 
of  the  people  and  reinstated  the  Democratic 
party  in  public  confidence.  What  will  the  decision 
be  to  day  ?  The  democratic  party  has  won  the 
greatest  success  in  its  history.  Standing  upon 
this  victory-crowned  summit,  will  it  turn  its  face 
to  the  rising-  or  the  setting-  sun  ?  Will  it  choose 

o  o 

blessings    or    cursings — life     or     death — which  ? 


135 

Which  ?  "  [Prolonged  applause  on  the  floor  and 
in  the  galleries,  and  cries  of  "Vote!"  "Vote!"] 

Copies  of  Mr.  Bryan's  speech  on  this  occasion 
were  in  great  demand.  Senator  Stewart  circulated 
5,000  copies,  and  other  bimetallists  distributed  large 
numbers  of  them ;  the  circulation  aggregating,  it 
has  been  estimated,  very  near  one  million. 

All  the  great  newspapers  were  filled  with  com- 
ments complimenting  Mr.  Bryan's  great  speech 
on  this  occasion.  The  New  York  World  termed 
it  "  The  most  remarkable  yet  heard  on  the  propo- 
sitions now  before  the  House."  The  New  York 
Tribune  said :  "  The  speech  was  a  success  of 
which  Mr.  Bryan  may  well  be  proud."  The 
Atlanta  Constitution  contained  this  reference : 

"This  afternoon  young  Mr.  Bryan  of  Nebraska 
delivered  the  most  remarkable  speech  heard  upon 
the  floor  of  the  House  in  many  years.  It  was 
upon  the  silver  question.  He  advocated  free 
coinage.  For  two  hours  and  fifty  minutes  the 
young  Nebraska  orator  held  the  close  attention 
of  a  full  house  and  crowded  galleries.  Instead 
of  members  leaving  the  hall  as  is  usual,  they 
crowded  in,  and  every  man  who  could,  listened  to 
the  entire  speech.  There  are  few  other  men  in 
Congress  who  could  have  held  such  an  audience 
for  so  long  a  time.  Certainly  in  the  last  ten 
years  no  man  has  performed  such  a  feat.  It  was 
generally  known  that  Mr.  Bryan  was  to  speak, 
but  no  one  expected  him  to  sustain  the  great  repu- 


tation  made  by  his  tariff  speech  delivered  last  year. 
That  speech  made  him  famous.  His  speech  of 
to-day  will  perpetuate  his  fame.  No  such  speech 
has  been  heard  on  either  side  since  the  debate 
opened.  His  delivery  was  perfect.  His  argu- 
ment exceedingly  strong.  Every  possible  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  free  coinage  he  placed  before  his 
hearers  in  the  most  forcible  style.  He  did  not 
repeat  himself.  Though  without  a  note  before 
him,  he  went  through  every  argument  in  language 
that  riveted  his  hearers  to  their  seats.  Occasionally 
a  single  standard  man  would  interrupt,  but  none 
did  it  without  subsequent  regret.  He  knows  his 
case,  so  to  speak.  At  repartee  he  is  brilliant. 
His  handsome  smooth  face  always  broadened  into 
smiles  when  a  question  was  propounded  to  him. 
With  the  confidence  and  ease  of  a  fencing  master 
he  would  clip  the  wings  of  his  interrupters.  He 
drove  every  one  to  a  seat  who  exhibited  the  temer- 
ity to  face  him,  and  he  did  it  with  the  apparent  ease 
of  the  experienced  matador.  He  pierced  their 
argument  and  called  for  others  as  the  matador 
would  for  a  new  bull.  The  speech  was  indeed 
grand.  No  other  kind  would  have  received  such 
attention.  Hardly  a  man  left  his  seat  even  for  a 
moment.  There  is  something  inspiring  about 
Mr.  Bryan's  delivery.  He  is  but  32  years  of  age, 
with  a  smooth  face  of  the  Sam  Randall  type, 
erect  in  his  bearing,  perfect  in  his  gesticulation, 
a  manly  man  to  look  upon.  He  is  pleasing  to 
the  eye.  His  language  is  choice,  smooth  and 


137 

eloquent.  He  uses  no  surplus  words.  Every 
word  fits  just  where  he  puts  it.  His  voice  is 
splendid,  his  utterances  pleasing  to  the  ear,  his 
argument  strong.  The  speech  has  established 
him  as  the  greatest  orator  in  the  House.  When 
he  finished,  great  applause  and  cheers  of  Vote ! 
vote !  rent  the  air.  Silver  and  anti-silver  men, 
Democrats  and  Republicans  alike,  crowded  over 
to  congratulate  him.  He  simply  had  electrified 
the  House.  Tom  Reed  and  Joe  Cannon  grasped 
his  hand,  and  told  him  it  was  the  greatest  speech 
ever  delivered  on  his  side  of  the  silver  question. 
Bourke  Cochran  and  William  L.  Wilson  declared 
it  was  the  greatest  silver  speech  ever  made 
upon  the  floor  of  the  House.  Bland,  Culbertson, 
Bankhead  and  all  the  silver  men  demonstrated 
enthusiasm  of  the  most  intense  order.  For  full 
ten  minutes  the  House  business  stopped  to  allow 
for  the  congratulations.  Not  a  member  failed  to 
congratulate  him.  Speaker  Crisp  says  since  he 
has  been  in  Congress  he  has  never  known  another 
man  to  hold  such  an  audience  for  two  hours  and 
fifty  minutes.  He  had  never  seen  such  close 
attention.  Such  interest  in  a  speech.  The  silver 
men  are  happy  over  it  to-night.  They  know  that 
it  has  strengthened  the  cause.  Some  of  them 

o 

claim  it  may  change  many  votes.  There  are 
those  who  say  since  that  speech  the  silver  men 
have  a  chance  of  winning  in  the  House.  No 
definite  idea  of  such  a  speech  can  be  given  in 
brief  synopsis." 


CHAPTER  VI. 
BRYAN'S   DETERMINED   FIGHT. 

With  the  approach  of  the  Nebraska  Demo- 
cratic State  Convention  of  1893  the  interest  in  the 
money  question  increased.  Friends  of  the  ad- 
ministration determined  that  the  Nebraska  plat- 
form should  contain  no  plank  favorable  to  silver. 
On  September  26,  1893,  Mr.  Bryan  gave  out  for 
publication  from  Washington  an  interview  in 
which  he  announced  that  he  would  return  to 
Nebraska  to  serve  as  a  delegate  to  the  State 
Convention  from  Lancaster  county,  and  to  assist 
in  giving  expression  to  the  sentiment  of  the  party 
on  the  paramount  question  of  the  day.  In  the 
interview  Mr.  Bryan  said :  "  I  shall  attend  the 
State  Convention,  not  to  secure  personal  endorse- 
ment, but  in  the  discharge  of  what  I  regard  as  a 
public  duty.  No  one  will  assert  that  the  President 
has  the  exclusive  right  to  construe  the  platform 
upon  so  vital  a  question.  Every  Democrat  is 
entitled  to  his  opinion.  The  Democrats  of  the 
East  have  met  and  endorsed  the  President's  con- 
struction. If  our  people  agree  with  that  construc- 
tion, they  ought  to  say  so.  They  owe  it  to  the 
President.  If  they  do  not  concur  in  the  President's 
construction,  they  owe  it  to  the  rest  of  the  country 

(138) 


139 

to  express  dissent.  The  President  is  not  infallible 
any  more  than  any  other  man.  If  he  is  mistaken, 
we  can  better  show  our  devotion  to  Democratic 
principles  by  dissenting,  rather  than  by  servile 
acquiescence.  I  may,  as  has  been  suggested, 
have  few  to  stand  with  me  in  the  fight.  But  if  I 
stand  alone  I  shall  make  the  fight.  I  would  be 
ungrateful  for  the  honors  the  party  has  bestowed 
upon  me  if  I  deserted  it  in  this  hour  of  party 
danger,  and  I  shall  make  any  sacrifice  necessary 
in  its  behalf." 

This  announcement  created  the  greatest  ac- 
tivity on  the  part  of  the  administration  in  Ne- 
braska, and  their  forces  were  organized  for  the 
defeat  of  the  young  Congressman  in  his  effort  to 
place  the  Nebraska  Democracy  once  more  in  line 
for  bimetallism.  It  was  given  out  from  high  ad- 
ministration authority,  that  after  this  announce- 
ment Mr.  Bryan  need  not  expect  any  favors  at  the 
hands  of  the  administration  ;  that  all  patronage 
would  be  withheld  from  him.  He  was  warned 
that  if  he  persisted  in  his  -course,  no  man  whom 
he  recommended  for  office  could  obtain  an 
office,  and  that  his  endorsement  of  an  application 
would  be  an  insurance  of  the  applicant's  defeat. 
The  warning  and  threats  did  not  deter  Mr.  Bryan 
from  his  course.  But  it  may  be  remarked  right 
here,  that  the  administration  kept  its  word.  From 
that  time  on,  Mr.  Bryan's  recommendation  at  the 


140 

White  House  was  not  worth  the  paper  on  which 
it  was  written. 

The  State  Convention  met  at  Lincoln,  October 
4,  1893.  True  to  his  word,  Mr.  Bryan  was  on 
hand,  and  he  found  himself  confronted  with  the 
greatest  aggregation  of  federal  office-holders  that 
ever  assembled  in  one  convention  hall.  It  may  be 
said  that  in  point  of  dramatic  interest  that  con- 
vention was  the  most  interesting  of  any  ever  held 
in  Nebraska.  Mr.  Bryan  had  an  almighty  big 
fight  on  his  hands,  and  while  he  came  out  of  the 
contest  defeated  for  the  moment  he  emerged 
stronger  in  the  hearts  and  the  affections  of  the 
people  of  his  adopted  State. 

In  that  convention  Bryan  was  not  only  sat  upon, 
but  not  the  slightest  mercy  was  shown  him.  Even 
the  ordinary  parliamentary  courtesies  were  ig- 
nored, and  the  young  Congressman  was  not  per- 
mitted to  obtain  the  slightest  advantage. 

For  several  days  it  had  been  known  that  the 
administration  had  scored  a  triumph  in  the  elec- 
tion of  delegates  to'  this  convention,  but  it  was 
presumed  by  many  that  with  so  pronounced  a 
victory  the  majority  would  at  least  be  merciful. 
There  was  no  quarter,  however.  The  administra- 
tion element  forced  the  fighting,  and  the  Bryan 
wing  seemed  to  invite  the  slaughter  by  its  motions 
and  demands  for  roll-call,  which  placed  on  record 
every  delegate  in  the  convention.  The  first  con- 
test came  upon  the  election  of  temporary  chair- 


man,  and  the  administration  won  by  an  overwelm- 
ing  majority.  The  administration  organized  the 
convention  permanently  by  the  same  decisive 
vote.  Then  when  it  came  to  selecting  a  commit- 
tee on  resolutions  one  of  the  delegates  moved 
that  Mr.  Bryan  be  made  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee. This  brought  on  the  fight  in  earnest,  and 
the  convention  went  wild.  The  administration 
men  were  determined  that  not  even  a  personal 
compliment  should  be  paid  to  the  young  Congress- 
man. Although  eight  members  of  that  committee 
were  to  be  gold  men,  they  were  not  willing  that 
Mr.  Bryan  should  be  the  ninth  man.  It  was  a 
different  question  from  endorsing  his  financial 
policy.  It  was  a  personal  question.  But,  as  re- 
sults indicated,  there  was  no  mercy  in  that  con- 
vention. The  chairman  of  one  delegation,  in 
casting  his  vote,  said  his  delegation  did  not  come 
to  instruct  the  Chair  in  his  duty.  He  voted  "No." 
He  was  willing  that  the  Chair  should  do  his  duty 
as  he  realized  it.  Everything  seemed  to  be  against 
Bryan  until  Douglas  county,  in  which  Omaha  is 
located,  was  reached.  When  that  county  was 
called  there  was  a  dramatic  scene.  The  chairman 
of  the  Douglas  delegation  arose  and  announced, 
"Douglas  county  casts  103  votes  '  No.' '  Be  it 
remembered  that  this  "  103  votes  '  No '  '  meant 
that  the  personal  compliment  should  not  be  ex- 
tended to  Bryan  of  placing  him  as  one  man  out 
of  nine  on  the  resolutions  committee. 


142 

There  was  a  deathlike  stillness.  G.  V.  Galla- 
gher, of  Douglas,  arose  and  levelling  his  good 
right  arm  at  the  Chair  said,  "  Mr.  Chairman." 

"The  gentleman  from  Douglas,"  said  the 
chairman. 

In  every  quarter  of  the  hall  men  stood  upon 
their  tiptoes.  Every  eye  was  directed  toward 
Gallagher. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,"  said  he,  "  in  order  to  set  my- 
self right  before  this  convention  I  desire  to  say 
that  the  unit  rule  has  been  adopted  in  the  Douglas 
delegation.  As  a  Democrat  I  submit  to  the  rule, 
but  I  want  to  say  here  and  now  that  if  it  were  not 
for  loyalty  to  the  majority  rule  of  my  delegation, 
my  vote  could  never  be  recorded  against  paying 
a  deserved  tribute  to  the  Chevalier  Bayard  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  Nebraska." 

This  broke  the  camel's  back.  The  Bryan  men 
arose  in  their  seats  and  yelled  themselves  hoarse. 
The  galleries  added  their  chorus  to  the  tumult. 
The  noise  had  not  died  away  when  C.  J.  Smyth, 
of  Douglas,  who  is  now  chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Committee,  arose  and  declared : 
"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  challenge  the  vote  of  Douglas 
county.  It  has  not  been  polled.  No  attempt  has 
even  been  made  to  poll  the  vote.  I  protest 
against  this  system  of  '  gag '  rule.  I  demand 
that  the  Douglas  delegation  be  polled." 

Then  the  entire  convention  arose  ;  everybody 
yelled  at  the  same  time.  Bryan  alone  sat  in  his 


143 

seat  with  that  familiar  set  smile  upon  his  face. 
The  Bryan  men  cheered  until  the  tears  rolled 
down  some  of  their  faces.  They  waved  um- 
brellas, hats,  newspapers,  and  everything  availa- 
ble. The  crowds  in  the  galleries  and  in  the  lobby 
seemed  to  be  with  Bryan  and  joined  in  the  popu- 
lar acclaim. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  tumult,  the  goldbug 
chairman  of  the  Douglas  delegation,  and  who,  by 
the  way,  has  since  been  rewarded  by  appointment 
as  postmaster  at  Omaha,  like  Casabianca  on  the 
burning  deck,  stood  with  arms  folded  and  a  deter- 
mined expression  upon  his  face.  He  calmly 
awaited  the  quiet  which  did  not  come  until  the 
chairman  declared  that  this  was  a  Democratic 
convention  and  every  man  should  have  a  hearing. 

Then  the  Douglas  chairman  said  that  he  had 
canvassed  the  vote  "  sufficiently  to  know  how  the 
majority  votes  were."  At  this  the  Bryan  men 
hissed  and  the  administration  men  cheered.  One 
I  gold  delegate  said  that  Mr.  Smyth  was  the  only 
man  that  proposed  to  vote  for  Bryan,  but  at  this 
moment  Ed.  P.  Smith,  an  Omaha  lawyer,  jumped 
to  his  feet,  and  waving  his  umbrella  yelled:  "  No, 
he  isn't.  I  want  to  say,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  if  no 
other  vote  is  cast  for  W.  J.  Bryan  I  want  my  vote 
cast  in  order  that  the  Democratic  party  of  Ne- 
braska may  accord  him  a  slight  tribute  for  his 
great  work.  I  am  for  Bryan  as  a  member  of  the 

Resolutions  Committee." 
9 


144 

Again  the  convention  went  wild.  But  the  big 
body  was  against  Bryan  and  nothing  could  stem 
the  tide.  After  a  poll  of  the  Douglas  delegation 
the  chairman  announced  "103  votes  '  No,' "  and 
that  settled  it.  The  motion  to  instruct  the  Chair  to 
appoint  Bryan  a  member  of  the  Resolutions  Com- 
mittee was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  122  yeas  to  373 
nays.  Everybody  thought  that  in  spite  of  this 
vote  the  Chair  would  appoint  Bryan  as  a  member 
of  the  committee,  tying  his  hands  with  eight  other 
members  who  were  against  him.  But  the  chair 
wasn't  built  that  way.  He  omitted  Bryan  from 
the  committee. 

When  the  committee  was  appointed,  a  motion 
to  take  a  recess  until  7  o'clock  was  adopted. 

As  Bryan  moved  from  the  convention  hall  he 
was  surrounded  by  a  great  gathering  of  men. 
From  there  to  the  sidewalk  he  was  kept  busy 
shaking  hands.  When  he  reached  the  street  a 
crowd  of  workingmen  and  citizens  of  all  classes 
gathered  around  him  and  climbed  over  one  an- 
other to  grasp  his  hand.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
peculiar  public  ovations  ever  witnessed.  Here 
was  a  man  who  had  just  been  sat' down  on  by  an 
overwhelming  majority  of  his  own  party  conven- 
tion, who  was  being  congratulated  on  every  hand 
— for  what?  For  defending  Democratic  princi- 
ples. 

Let  it  suffice,  however,  to  state  that  no  man 
engaged  upon  a  great  triumphal  march  after  a 


145 

mighty  conquest  ever  received  such  a  splendid 
popular  ovation  as  did  Bryan  after  a  mighty  de- 
feat. 

While  the  convention  was  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  the  chairman  of  the  Credentials  Committee  the 
crowd  filled  in  the  time  at  the  evening  session  by 
yelling  for  Bryan.  The  calls  for  the  young  Con- 
gressman became  so  strong  and  earnest  that  the 
entire  assemblage  took  up  the  refrain.  The  de- 
lay was  becoming  more  than  embarrassing.  The 
crowd  was  an  impatient  one,  and  in  the  midst  of 
all  this  one  old  delegate  took  a  position  in  the 
center  of  the  aisle  and  went  through  the  panto- 
mime of  a  speech,  but  it  was  all  pantomime. 

Not  a  word  could  be  heard.  It  was  simply 
ludicrous  to  see  an  old,  bald-headed  man  standing 
up  in  a  vast  assemblage,  and  at  one  yell  of  the 
crowd  the  old  man's  arms  would  go  down  and  at 
the  next  they  would  go  up,  and  this  pantomime 
was  kept  up  until  the  crowd  was  weary.  The 
assemblage  was  desperate  by  this  time  and  called 
for  "  After  the  Ball."  At  9.40  o'clock  the  chair- 
man called  the  convention  to  order.  The  Reso- 
lutions Committee  reported  with  a  goldbug  plat- 
form, and  upon  this  report  Mr.  Bryan  was  per- 
mitted to  speak.  The  federal  officials  who  had 
packed  the  convention  found  that  they  had  under- 
taken a  difficult  task  in  endeavoring  to  completely 
bury  the  young  Congressman.  He  asked  no 


146 

quarter.  He  mounted  the  platform  and  hurled 
defiance  at  his  enemies. 

Mr.  Bryan  spoke  as  follows: 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention:  We  have  to 
meet  to-night  as  important  a  question  as  ever 
came  before  the  Democrats  of  the  State  of 
Nebraska.  It  is  not  a  personal  question;  it  is  a 
question  that  rises  above  individuals.  So  far  as 
I  am  personally  concerned  it  matters  not  that 
(snapping  his  fingers)  whether  you  vote  this 
amendment  up  or  down;  it  matters  not  to  me 
whether  you  pass  resolutions  censuring  my  course 
or  indorsing  it,  and  if  I  am  wrong  in  the  position 
I  have  taken  I  will  fall,  though  you  heap  your 
praises  upon  me;  if  I  am  right  in  the  position  I 
have  taken — and  in  my  heart,  so  help  me  God,  I 
believe  I  am — (applause) — if  I  am  right  I  will 
triumph  yet,  although  you  downed  me  in  your 
convention  a  hundred  times.  (Applause.) 

"Gentlemen  of  this  convention,  satisfied  with 
what  I  have  done,  you  are  playing  in  the  base- 
ment of  politics.  Why,  you  think  you  can  pass 
resolutions  censuring  a  man,  and  that  you  can 
humiliate  him.  I  want  to  tell  you  that  I  am  exiled 
with  no  more  joy  than  the  delegates  who  come 
here  and  drown  their  sentiments  for  fear  they  will 
not  get  office. 

"Gentlemen,  if  you  represent  your  constituents 
in  what  you  have  done,  and  will  do — because  I  do 
not  entertain  the  fond  hope  that  any  of  you  men 


Hpx.  CHARLES  F.  CRISP. 


HON.  ROBERT  E.  PATTISON, 
gj-Governor  of  Pennsylv»ni». 


149 

who  have  voted  as  you  have  to-day  will  change  it 
upon  this  vote;  I  have  no  such  idea,  but  I  want  to 
say  to  you  that  if  the  delegates  who  came  here 
properly  reflect  the  sentiments  of  the  Democratic 
party  which  sent  them  here;  if  the  resolutions 
which  you  have  proposed  here,  and  which  you  will 
adopt;  if  they  reflect  the  sentiments  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  of  this  State,  and  this  party  declares 
in  favor  of  a  gold  standard ;  if  you  declare  in 
favor  of  the  impoverishment  of  the  people  of 
Nebraska,  if  you  intend  to  make  more  galling 
than  the  slavery  of  the  black,  the  slavery  of  the 
debtors  of  this  country;  if  the  Democratic  party 
after  you  go  home  indorses  your  action  and  this 
becomes  your  sentiment,  I  want  to  promise  you 
that  I  will  go  out  and  serve  my  country  and  my 
God  under  some  other  name,  if  I  go  alone. 
(Applause.  Voice  from  convention :  'The  people 
of  Nebraska  will  take  care  of  you,  Mr.  Bryan.') 
"Gentlemen,  I  want  to  express  it  as  my  humble 
opinion  that  the  Democratic  party  of  Nebraska 
will  never  ratify  what  you  have  done  here  in  this 
convention.  My  friends,  in  this  city,  when  we  had 
our  primaries,  there  were  banks  that  called  their 
claquers  in  and  told  them  to  vote,  but  thank  God, 
there  are  many  men  in  Nebraska  who  cannot  be 
driven  and  compelled  to  vote  as  somebody 
dictates.  (Applause.)  The  Democratic  party 
was  founded  by  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  Thomas 
Jefferson  dared  to  defy  the  wealth  and  power  of 


his  day  and  plead  the  cause  of  the  common 
people,  and  if  the  Democratic  party  lives  it  will 
still  plead  the  cause  of  the  man  who  wears  a  col- 
ored shirt  as  well  as  the  man  who  wears  the  linen 
shirt.  (Applause.) 

"You  have  got  to-day  to  choose  what  kind  of 
Democracy  you  want.  For  thirty  years  the 
Democratic  party  has  denounced  the  demonetiza- 
tion of  silver;  for  twenty  years  it  has  proclaimed 
it  the  "crime  of  the  age;"  it  has  heaped  upon  the 
Republican  party  all  the  opprobrium  that  language 
could  express.  If  you  are  ready  to  go  down  on 
your  knees  and  apologize  for  what  you  have  said, 
you  will  go  without  me.  (Applause.) 

"On  the  I4th  day  of  July,  1892,  John  Sherman 
of  Ohio  introduced  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  a  bill  substantially  like  that  which  has 
passed  the  house  known  as  the  Wilson  Bill.  That 
bill  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  by  the  premier 
of  the  Republican  party,  by  the  leader  of  the 
financial  system  of  the  Republican  party,  and  you 
come  into  this  convention  and  attempt  to  thrust  it 
down  the  throats  of  the  Democrats  as  a  Demo- 
cratic measure.  (Laughter.) 

"There  sits  in  Columbus,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  a 
Democrat,  once  known  as  '  the  noblest  Roman  of 
them  all.'  He  has  won  and  held  the  affection  of 
the  American  people  as  few  citizens  have.  He 
sits  now  crowned  with  the  honors  of  a  nation's 
gratitude.  He  sits  waiting  there  for  the  sum- 


mons  to  come  that  will  call  him  home,  where  I 
know  there  is  a  reward  for  men  who  sacrifice  them- 
selves for  their  country's  good,  and  from  the  sol- 
itude of  his  retreat  Allen  G.  Thurman  says  he  is 
opposed  to  unconditional  repeal,  and  when  I 
must  choose  between  John  Sherman  of  Ohio  and 
Allen  G.  Thurman  of  Ohio  I  take  my  Democracy 
from  the  latter  source.  (Applause.) 

"Do  you  say  this  is  Democracy?  Was  it  in  the 
platform?  Read  the  national  platform;  you  can't 
find  authority  for  unconditional  repeal  there. 
You  find  a  demand  for  repeal,  but  you  find 
a  declaration  that  you  shall  coin  both  metals 
without  discrimination,  and  without  charge  for  mint- 
age, and  are  you  going  to  snatch  away  a  little  of 
the  platform  and  thrust  it  down  the  throats  of 
Democrats  and  turn  your  back  upon  the  declara- 
tion which  has  been  in  their  platform  for  the  last 
twenty  years.  The  Democratic  party  in  Congress 
has  on  many  occasions  expressed  itself,  and  until 
this  year  there  was  never  a  time  but  what  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Democrats  voted  in  the  House  and 
Senate  for  the  free  coinage  of  silver  at  16  to  i,  and 
in  this  Congress,  when  the  question  came  up  in 
the  lower  house,  a  majority  of  the  Democrats 
voted  to  substitute  the  Bland  law  for  the  Sher- 
man law,  showing  they  were  not  in  favor  of 
unconditional  repeal.  Take  the  vote  and  see 
where  it  comes  from. 

"This    platform   says    we    know   no    section. 


Well,  my  friends,  we  do  not  know  as  much  as 
some  other  people  in  other  parts  of  the  country 
if  we  know  no  section.  (Applause.)  You  take 
the  six  New  England  States,  the  States  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  the  two 
southern  States  that  are  really  eastern — Maryland 
and  Delaware,  that  cast  103  votes — 101  were  in 
favor  of  repeal.  (Voice  from  convention,  'Doug- 
las county  cast  103  votes.')  I  might  suggest 
this:  That  to  get  the  103  votes  they  do  not  have 
to  go  back  three  years  to  find  a  convention. 
(Laughter.)  How  did  the  South  vote  ?  You  take 
that  section  of  the  country  which  I  have  called 
Democratic — I  have  mentioned — Maryland  and 
Delaware — and  the  vote  of  those  southern  States, 
notwithstanding  more  influence  was  brought  to 
bear,  perhaps,  than  was  ever  brought  to  bear 
before,  notwithstanding  that,  in  those  southern 
states  sixty-eight  Democrats  voted  against  uncon- 
ditional repeal  and  forty-nine  Democrats  voted  for 
unconditional  repeal. 

"Take  the  States  west  of  the  Mississippi  river 
— and  there  were  29  votes  against  repeal  and  95 
for  repeal — (applause) — and  out  of  the  95  for 
repeal  one  came  from  Douglas  county,  and  was  a 
Republican,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  my  friends 
from  Douglas  are  indorsing  him  because  they 
elected  him  in  a  Democratic  district  or  not.  Then, 
gentlemen  of  the  convention,  you  will  find  there 
were  sectional  lines  in  that  vote.  The  great 


153 

country  west  of  the  Mississippi  river  was  almost 
to  a  vote  against  unconditional  repeal ;  the  great 
country  south,  to  which  we  look  for  our  Demo- 
cratic majority,  was,  a  majority  of  it,  against  uncon- 
ditional repeal.  Do  you  tell  me  those  men  don't 
know  what  Democracy  is?  Out  of  thirteen 
Democrats  from  Missouri  twelve  voted  against 
unconditional  repeal.  Take  the  Democrats  of 
Texas,  and  they  rolled  up  their  tremendous 
Democratic  majority,  and  yet  a  majority  of  them 
were  against  unconditional  repeal.  You  take  the 
men  who  have  been  preaching  the  gospel  of 
Democracy — take  John  W.  Daniel  of  Virginia, 
whose  magnificent  speech  in  defense  of  a  consti- 
tutional money  has  not  been  answered,  and  will 
not  be  answered  by  any  man — (applause) — you 
take  Senator  Morgan  of  Alabama;  take  Senators 
Vest  of  Missouri  and  Pugh  of  Alabama;  take 
Harris  and  Beck  of  Tennessee,  Vance  of  North 
Carolina,  Butler  of  South  Carolina,  George  of 
Mississippi — and  they  have  stood  up  and  said  they 
were  Democrats;  they  stood  upon  the  national 
platform,  and  they  were  opposed  to  the  repeal  of 
the  Sherman  law  unless  you  give  something  else  in 
the  place  of  the  Sherman  law  that  provided  for 
the  use  of  silver.  (Applause.) 

"  These  gentlemen  are  Democrats.  Nobody  has 
dared  to  impeach  their  Democracy.  And  yet  I 
was  read  out  of  the  Democratic  party  by  a  gentle- 


154 

man  who  could  not  be  elected  a  delegate  for  the 
fifth  ward.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

"  Now,  gentlemen,  there  is  a  division  in  the 
Democratic  party  on  this  question.  The  platform 
declared  for  repeal,  and  it  also  declared  for  the 
use  of  both  metals  without  cost  for  mintage.  The 
President  of  the  United  States  has  construed  that 
platform.  Is  there  a  man  here  so  lost  to  hero- 
worship  that  he  will  declare  that  the  President  has 
the  right  to  construe  that  platform  for  him  ? 
(Hisses.)  Does  anybody  say  that  because  a  man 
is  President  it  gives  him  the  right  to  take  from  the 
platform  what  he  desires  and  discard  what  he  does 
not  want,  and  bind  that  upon  the  conscience  of 
the  Democratic  party  ? 

"  My  friends,  I  believe  that  every  Democrat  in 
the  United  States,  whether  he  be  rich  or  poor, 
whether  he  be  a  common  laborer  or  whether  he 
be  able  to  go  as  ambassador  to  Italy  because  of 
his  wealth— (laughter  and  hisses) — I  believe  every 
Democrat  has  the  right  to  construe  the  Demo- 
cratic platform  and  to  express  that  opinion. 
(Voices,  'We  do.')  And  I  am  glad  that  you 
have  had  the  courage — those  who  differ  from  me 

O 

— instead  of  straddling  the  question,  to  come  out 
squarely  and  state  that  the  President  is  right  in 
saying,  after  we  have  declared  for  free  coinage, 
that  we  cannot  have  it  unless  foreign  nations  help 
us.  Read  the  letter  sent  by  the  President  to 
Governor  Northen.  In  that  letter  he  says :  '  I  am 


155 

opposed  to  free  and  unlimited  coinage  by  this 
country  alone  and  independently.' 

"  I  challenge  you  to  find  in  any  Democratic  plat- 
form made  by  a  national  convention,  or  expressed 
by  any  vote  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  Senate 
or  House,  a  declaration  that  sustains  the  Presi- 
dent. 

"  The  President  has  written  a  new  platform,  and 
it  must  be  endorsed  by  the  Democracy  of  the 
country  before  it  is  binding  on  any  man.  (A 
voice,  '  You  are  right.')  If  you  believe  the  Pres- 
ident is  right  in  running  his  pen  through  our  plat- 
form and  declaring  that  the  aid  of  foreign  nations 
is  necessary  to  enable  Congress  to  make  laws  for 
our  people,  express  it  in  your  resolution  ;  but,  if 
you  believe  with  me  that  this  nation  is  great 
enough,  strong  enough  and  grand  enough  to  leg- 
islate for  its  own  people,  regardless  of  the  en- 
treaties and  the  threats  of  foreign  Powers,  then 
vote  for  the  minority  report.  (Applause.) 

"  Pass  that  bill  through  the  Senate  and  where  is 

o 

your  hope  for  silver?  Do  you  believe  in  the  use 
of  gold  and  silver?  Why,  read  what  the  platform 
said  in  1880  and  1884.  In  1880  we  said  'honest 
money,  consisting  of  gold  and  silver  and  paper 
convertible  into  coin.'  Silver  was  honest  money 
then.  When  did  it  become  dishonest?  In  1884 
we  believed  in  honest  money,  the  gold  and  silver 
coinage  of  the  Constitution,  and  a  circulating  me- 
dium convertible  into  such  coin  without  loss.  In 


1884  silver  was  honest  money,  and  no  Democrat 
in  a  national  convention  dared  to  denounce  silver 
as  cheap,  nasty  or  dishonest.  In  1888  we  reaf- 
firmed the  platform  of  1884,  so  that  in  1888  silver 
was  honest  money.  In  1892  we  declared  for  the 
coinage  of  both  metals  without  discrimination  and 

o 

without  cost  for  mintage.  Aye,  silver  was  honest 
then,  and  until  some  national  convention  declares 
as  the  voice  of  the  Democratic  party  of  the  nation 
that  silver  is  dishonest  money,  I  deny  the  right  of 
any  man,  elected  to  any  office,  to  denounce  and 
ostracise  silver  as  dishonest  money ;  I  care  not 
what  his  position  or  what  his  rank.  (Hisses.) 

"  Mr.  Gladstone  said  the  other  day  that  Eng- 
land was  opposed  to  silver,  was  opposed  to  bi- 
metallism, because  England  was  a  creditor  nation, 
and  because  she  gained  by  the  appreciation  of  the 
dollar  caused  by  the  rise  in  gold,  and  because  of 
that  selfish  interest  that  England  would  not  be  in 
favor  of  bimetallism  because  she  wanted  to  get 
the  dollar  fatter  every  day  in  payment  for  the 
debts  we  owe.  I  want  to  ask  you  if  it  is  to  the 
interest  of  the  American  people  to  give  her  that 
dollar  that  grows  fatter  at  the  expense  of  the 
toilers  of  the  United  States.  (Cries  of  '  No,' 
'  No.') 

"In  these  United  States  there  are  $132,000,000 
upon  farm  mortgages.  They  tell  us  we  must 
not  speak  of  indebtedness.  No,  it  is  better  to 
suffer  from  it  than  to  mention  it  and  to  correct 


HON.  HOKACE  CHILTON, 

U,  S,  Senator  from  Tesas. 


HON.  E.  C.  WALTHALL, 
V.  g.  Senator  from  Mississippi. 


159 

the  wrong.  They  call  us  calamity  howlers  because 
we  dare  to  suggest  that  that  is  a  large  debt.  You 
make  that  dollar  larger  by  appreciation  ;  run  it 
up  until  a  gold  ounce  will  exchange  for  twice  as 
much  as  it  will  to-day  and  by  legislation  you  fix 
upon  this  people  a  debt  of  $132,000,000  that  they 
never  contracted  ;  you  fix  it  to  their  disadvantage 
and  to  the  advantage  of  the  man  that  holds  the 
note.  You  tell  me  it  is  not  a  sectional  question  ; 
but,  my  friends,  when  a  gentleman  from  Connecti- 
cut stands  upon  the  floor  of  Congress  and  says, 
'  I  want  gold  because  my  people  loan  money  and 
I  am  interested  in  their  getting  as  good  a  dollar 
as  I  can,'  I  tell  you  I  will  be  sectional  enough  to 
stand  upon  the  floor  and  say  that  my  people  owe 
money  and  you  will  never  collect  a  bigger  dollar 
than  we  borrowed  if  I  can  help  it,  so  help  me 
God  !  (Applause.)  I  will  not  detain  you  longer 
— (Cries  of  '  Go  on  '  '  Go  on  ! ') — I  will  not  de- 
tain you  longer  and  enter  into  a  discussion  of  this 
question  which  would  go  over  the  whole  merits 
of  it.  It  would  require  more  time  than  you  have 
to  give.  But,  my  friends,  you  know  what  the  ar- 
guments are ;  you  have  heard  them  day  by  day, 
and  you  know  that  if  we  would  put  it  to  vote  in 
the  State  of  Nebraska  and  let  every  man  write 
upon  his  ballot  whether  he  wanted  to  use  gold 
and  silver,  or  wanted  to  repeal  the  Sherman  law 
to  aid  some  foreign  nation  in  the  use  of  a  single 
standard,  you  know  and  I  know  that  not  only  the 


i6o 

Democratic  party,  but  all  parties,  would  vote  nine 
to  one  in  favor  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver.  You 
know  it. 

"If,  knowing  that  fact,  you  dare  to  place  the 
Democratic  party  on  record  against  the  interests 
of  the  people,  you  alone  are  answerable  for  the 
consequences  which  will  follow. 

"  Why,  my  friends,  why  shall  we  appeal  to  the 
people  for  votes  ?  Do  you  go  to  a  man  and  say, 
'  Vote  the  Democratic  ticket  because  you  will  get 
a  postoffice  ? '  No.  The  State  Committee  may 
send  out  letters  to  the  candidates  and  tell  them 
to  come  as  delegates  to  the  convention  in  order 
to  get  a  postoffice,  but  you  don't  tell  that  to  the 
people  when  you  ask  them  for  their  votes.  You 
say  to  them  '  the  Democratic  party  is  the  best  in- 
strument by  which  you  serve  your  country;'  you 
try  to  tell  them  that  by  the  application  of  Demo- 
cratic principles  of  government  you  will  bring 
equality  before  the  law ;  that  you  will  bring  equal 
rights  to  the  people,  and  you  have  taught  them 
that  you  will  give  equal  rights  to  all,  and  no  spe- 
cial privileges  to  any.  That  is  what  you  say  when 
you  go  before  the  people.  You  must  have  some- 
thing to  plead  for;  you  must  have  something  to 
show  them. 

"What  are  you  doing,  my  friends?  In  1890 
you  put  in  your  platform  a  plank  declaring  for  the 
free  coinage  of  silver,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  this  State  you  elected  a  Democratic 


governor.  Free  coinage  didn't  drive  people  away 
from  the  Democratic  party.  The  next  year  you 
met,  and  for  fear  of  embarrassing  your  Eastern 
brothers,  you  decided  not  to  say  anything  at  all 
until  after  the  national  convention ;  and  after  the 
national  convention  you  decided  you  could  not  say 
anything  then  because  the  national  convention  had 
spoken.  (Laughter.)  And  we  had  a  campaign 
of  eloquence  and  ability  that  cannot  be  over- 
matched, and  as  a  result  the  Democratic  party 
that  carried  the  State  in  1890  was  beaten  by 
34,000  by  the  Republicans,  and  24,000  by  the 
Independents. 

"Now  go  a  little  further:  when  you  were  bold 
and  declared  for  free  coinage  you  carried  the 
State ;  when  you  were  afraid  to  express  yourself 
you  fell  down  to  nearly  one-half  your  size ;  and 
now  you  bow  as  willing  worshippers  at  the  feet 
of  the  golden  calf.  When  you  cry  to  the  men 
who  have  robbed  you  by  taxation,  and  you 
pleaded,  and  pleaded  in  vain  for  relief;  when 
they  have  robbed  you  by  taxation  and  then  loaned 
the  money  that  they  took  from  you  back  to  you 
on  interest,  and  now  try  to  get  back  from  you  a 
bigger  dollar  than  the  dollar  which  they  loaned 
you — now  you  say  that  you  are  in  favor  of  it. 
Say  that  instead  of  standing  by  the  men  who  have 
stood  by  the  Democratic  party  in  the  hours  of  its 
needs,  instead  of  standing  by  the  great  producing 
sections  of  the  South  and  West,  whose  interests 


are  identical  and  who  suffered  from  common  bur- 
dens, say  that  instead  of  standing  by  those  who 
have  stood  by  you  in  your  efforts  for  tariff  reduc- 
tion, that  in  the  hours  of  their  need  and  yours 
you  will  desert  the  history  of  the  Democratic 
party,  you  will  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  pleadings  of 
its  greatest  senators,  its  greatest  lights,  and  turn 
and  say  to  the  people  who  have  smitten  you : 
'  We  are  ready  to  lick  the  hands  that  smite.'  Say 
that  and  call  it  Democracy,  but  I  shall  not  call  it 
Democracy  until  the  Democratic  party  of  this 
State  has  expressed  itself  upon  the  subject." 
(Applause.) 

Bryan's  speech  was  greeted  with  a  mighty 
demonstration.  The  convention's  refusal  to  even 
place  the  young  Congressman  on  the  Resolutions 
Committee  was  met  with  most  severe  criticism. 
It  was  one  of  the  best  tributes  that  could  be  paid 
to  Bryan  that  his  enemies  were  afraid  to  place 
him  upon  the  Resolutions  Committee  with  eight 
men  on  the  same  committee  against  him.  But 
that  action  was  most  severely  criticised  because  it 
was  a  violation  of  all  parliamentary  precedent, 
which  has  been  to  treat  the  minority  with  decency. 
Simply  in  keeping  with  the  facts,  it  must  be  stated 
that  the  Bryan  men  were  not  accorded  the  most 
common  courtesy  due  to  a  conquered  foe.  The 
administration  men  plainly  showed  that  they  were 
afraid  of  the  prowess  of  the  young  Congressman, 


163 

and  they  did  not  propose  to  give  him  the  slightest 
opportunity  to  exert  his  influence  among  his  fellow- 
Democrats.  The  convention  stood  three  to  one 
against  Bryan.  The  majority  could  have  well 
afforded  to  place  him  on  the  Resolutions  Com- 
mittee with  eight  men  against  him,  but  it  chose 
not  to  do  so.  They  acted  very  much  like  men 
who  had  an  antagonist  down  and  who  did  not  pro- 
pose to  let  him  up.  The  entire  action,  so  far  as 
Bryan  was  concerned,  was  impolitic  and  unwise. 

The  young  Congressman  in  the  convention  met 
with  a  defeat  which  some  of  the  delegates  called 
"  ignominious,"  but  if  it  was  to  be  judged  by  the 
popular  ovation  which  was  extended  to  Bryan  on 
every  hand,  he  might  have  said  on  that  day,  in  the 
language  of  Daniel  Webster :  "  I  still  live." 
And  from  the  indications,  W.  J.  Bryan,  though  he 
was  disowned  and  dishonored  by  the  State  con- 
vention of  his  own  party,  was  the  biggest  and 
most  conspicuous  Democrat  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river. 

When  the  news  of  Bryan's  defeat  was  carried 
to  Washington  the  entire  Cleveland  Cabinet  went 
wild  with  delight.  It  was  proudly  claimed  by  the 
Federal  office-holders  that  Bryan  was  dead  and 
that  they  had  buried  him  politically  forever.  But 
subsequent  events  not  far  removed  from  that  date 
showed  that  William  J.  Bryan  was  able  to  lay 
aside  his  grave-clothes  and  his  shroud. 

The  parting  of  the  ways  with  the  young  Con- 

10 


164 

gressman  and  the  so-called  Democratic  adminis- 
tration, however,  had  been  reached,  and  no  effort 
was  spared  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Cleveland  and  his 
agents  to  humiliate  the  young  man  who  dared  to 
have  his  own  opinion  and  to  express  that  opinion 
even  though  it  differed  radically  from  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  nation.  But  Mr.  Bryan  was  not  a 
man  to  be  humiliated  by  the  cheap  tactics  of  the 
Cleveland  administration. 

While  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  was  loading 
down  the  wires  with  long-winded  interviews 
denunciatory  of  Mr.  Bryan,  the  young  Congress- 
man, true  to  his  nature,  had  no  word  of  personal 
retort,  but  adhered  strictly  to  the  line  of  public 
duty  which  he  had  marked  out;  and  he  grew 
stronger  and  stronger  each  succeeding  day  with 
the  people,  who  had  learned  to  appreciate  his 
splendid  purpose. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
"THE  GRAVE  GIVES  UP  ITS  DEAD." 

The  administration  forces  at  Washington  and 
in  Nebraska  were  considerably  disappointed  when 
they  found  that  their  delight  in  the  temporary 
defeat  of  Mr.  Bryan  was  shared  only  by  the 
Federal  officials.  Some  of  these  little  fellows,  in 
their  blind  vanity,  could  not  see  that  Bryan  really 
represented  the  overwhelming  sentiment  of  the 
Nebraska  Democracy.  Others,  however,  very 
soon  discovered  their  error.  They  soon  learned 
that  it  is  a  very  difficult  task  to  destroy  a  man 
whose  only  sin  had  been  that  he  struggled  for  a 
principle.  The  scene  at  the  Nebraska  conven- 
tion of  1893  very  much  resembled  that  wherein  a 
gang  of  jay-birds  peck  upon  an  eagle.  In  this  in- 
stance at  least  no  injury  came  to  the  eagle,  for  he 
soared  above  the  petty  persecutors  and  left  them 
to  the  oblivion  for  which  nature  had  so  admirably 
fitted  them. 

Mr.  Bryan  returned  to  his  Congressional  duties 
while  the  administration  put  in  much  of  its  time 
branding  for  the  slaughter  men  who  were  appli- 
cants for  office  and  who  had  been  known  to 
sympathize  with  Mr.  Bryan.  The  young  Con- 
gressman began  a  determined  advocacy  of  an  in- 

(165) 


i66 

come  tax  plan.  He  was  so  vigorous  in  his 
championship  of  this  measure  that  he  drew  upon 
himself  considerable  criticism  of  eastern  news- 
papers, but  he  was  rewarded  by  the  adoption  of 
the  income  tax  as  suggested  by  him,  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Ways  and  Means. 

On  January  13,  1894,  Mr.  Bryan  addressed  the 
House  on  the  tariff  bill,  in  which  address  he 
maintained  his  high  reputation. 

On  January  30,  1894,  Mr.  Bryan  addressed  the 
House  on  the  subject  of  the  proposed  income  tax. 
On  that  occasion  he  had  pitted  against  him  the 
eloquent  Bourke  Cockran,  of  New  York.  Mr. 
Cockran,  although  a  Democrat,  vigorously  opposed 
the  tax.  From  Mr.  Bryan's  speech  in  reply  to 
Mr.  Cockran  the  following  extracts  are  taken: 

"  I  need  not  give  all  the  reasons  which  led  the 
committee  to  recommend  this  tax,  but  will  suggest 
two  of  the  most  important.  The  stockholder  in  a 
corporation  limits  his  liability.  When  the  statute 
creating  the  corporation  is  fully  complied  with,  the 
individual  stockholder  is  secure,  except  to  the 
extent  fixed  by  the  statute,  whereas  the  entire 
property  of  the  individual  is  ordinarily  liable  for 
his  debts.  Another  reason  is  that  corporations 
enjoy  certain  privileges  and  franchises.  Some 
are  given  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  while  others, 
such  as  street-car  companies,  are  given  the  right 
to  use  the  streets  of  the  city — a  franchise  which 
increases  in  value  with  each  passing  year.  Cor- 


167 

porations  occupy  the  time  and  attention  of  our 
Federal  courts  and  enjoy  the  protection  of  the 
Federal  Government,  and  as  they  do  not  ordi- 
narily pay  taxes,  the  committee  felt  justified  in 
proposing  a  light  tax  upon  them. 

"  Some  gentlemen  have  accused  the  committee 
of  showing  hostility  to  corporations.  But,  Mr. 
Chairman,  we  are  not  hostile  to  corporations ; 
we  simply  believe  that  these  creatures  of  the  law, 
these  fictitious  persons,  have  no  higher  or  dearer 
rights  than  the  persons  of  flesh  and  blood  whom 
God  created  and  placed  upon  His  footstool.  (Ap- 
plause.) Their  assessed  valuation  increased  only 
a  little  more  than  $300,000,000.  This  bill  is  not 
in  the  line  of  class  legislation,  nor  can  it  be  re- 
garded as  legislation  against  a  section,  for  the 
rate  of  taxation  is  the  same  on  every  income  over 
$4,000,  whether  its  possessor  lives  upon  the  At- 
lantic coast,  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  or  on  the 
Pacific  Slope.  I  only  hope  that  we  may  in  the 
future  have  more  farmers  in  the  agricultural  dis- 
tricts whose  incomes  are  large  enough  to  tax. 
(Applause.) 

"But  the  gentleman  from  New  York  (Mr.  Cock- 
ran)  has  denounced  as  unjust  the  principle  under- 
lying this  tax.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  read 
authorities  to  the  House.  There  is  no  more  just 
tax  upon  the  statute  books  than  the  income  tax, 
nor  can  any  tax  be  proposed  which  is  more  equi- 


i68 

table ;  and  the  principle  is  sustained  by  the  most 
distinguished  writers  on  political  economy. 

"  Adam  Smith  says  : 

"  '  The  subjects  of  every  State  ought  to  contrib- 
ute to  the  support  of  the  Government,  as  nearly 
as  possible  in  proportion  to  their  respective  abili- 
ities ;  that  is,  in  proportion  to  the  revenue  which 
they  respectively  enjoy  under  the  protection  of 
the  State.  In  the  observation  or  neglect  of  this 
maxim  consists  what  is  called  the  equality  or  in- 
equality of  taxation.' 

"  The  income  tax  is  the  only  one  which  really 
fulfills  this  requirement.  But  it  is  said  that  we 
single  out  some  person  with  a  large  income  and 
make  him  pay  more  than  his  share.  And  let  me 
call  attention  here  to  a  fatal  mistake  made  by  the 
distinguished  gentleman  from  New  York  (Mr. 
Cockran).  You  who  listened  to  his  speech  would 
have  thought  that  the  income  tax  was  the  onlv 

o  ^ 

Federal  tax  proposed ;  you  would  have  supposed 
that  it  was  the  object  of  this  bill  to  collect  the 
entire  revenue  from  an  income  tax.  The  gen- 
tleman forgets  that  the  pending  tariff  bill  will  col- 
lect upon  imports  more  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions  of  dollars — nearly  ten  times  as 
much  as  we  propose  to  collect  from  the  individual 
income  tax.  Everybody  knows  that  a  tax  upon 
consumption  is  an  unequal  tax,  and  that  the  poor 
man  by  means  of  it  pays  far  out  of  proportion  to 
the  income  which  he  enjoys. 


169 

"  I  read  the  other  day  in  the  New  York  World 
— and  I  gladly  join  in  ascribing  praise  to  that 
great  daily  for  its  courageous  fight  upon  this  sub- 
ject in  behalf  of  the  common  people — a  descrip- 
tion of  the  home  of  the  richest  woman  in  the 
United  States.  She  owns  property  estimated  at 
$60,000,000,  and  enjoys  an  income  which  can 
scarcely  be  less  than  $3,000,000,  yet  she  lives  at 
a  cheap  boarding  house,  and  only  spends  a  few 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  That  woman,  under 
your  indirect  system  of  taxation  does  not  pay  as 
much  toward  the  support  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment as  a  laboring  man  whose  income  of  $500  is 
spent  upon  his  family.  (Applause.) 

"  Why,  sir,  the  gentleman  from  New  York  (Mr. 
Cockran)  said  that  the  poor  are  opposed  to  this 
tax  because  they  do  not  want  to  be  deprived  of 
participation  in  it,  and  that  taxation  instead  of 
being  a  sign  of  servitude  is  a  badge  of  freedom. 
If  taxation  is  a  badge  of  freedom,  let  me  assure 
my  friend  that  the  poor  people  of  this  country  are 
covered  all  over  with  the  insignia  of  freemen. 
(Applause.) 

"  Notwithstanding  the  exemptions  proposed  by 
this  bill,  the  people  whose  incomes  are  less  than 
$4,000  will  still  contribute  far  more  than  their  just 
share  to  the  support  of  the  Government.-  The 
gentleman  says  that  he  opposes  this  tax  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  poor !  Oh,  sir,  is  it  not  enough  to 


I/O 

betray  the  cause  of  the  poor — must  it  t>e  done 
with  a  kiss  ?  (Applause.) 

"  Would  it  not  be  fairer  for  the  gentleman  to 

O 

fling  his  burnished  lance  full  in  the  face  of  the 
toiler,  and  not  plead  for  the  great  fortunes  of  this 
country  under  cover  of  the  poor  man's  name? 
(Applause.)  The  gentleman  also  tells  us  that 
the  rich  will  welcome  this  tax  as  a  means  of  se- 
curing greater  power.  Let  me  call  your  atten- 
tion to  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  New  York 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  I  wonder  how  many 
poor  men  have  membership  in  that  body ! 

"  They  say  that  the  income  tax  was  '  only  tole- 
rated as  a  war  measure,  and  was  abrogated  by 
universal  consent  as  soon  as  the  condition  of  the 
country  permitted.'  Abrogated  by  universal  con- 
sent !  What  refreshing  ignorance  from  such  an 

O         O 

intelligent  source !     If  their  knowledge  of  other 

<j  o 

facts  recited  in  those  resolutions  is  as  accurate  as 
that  statement,  how  much  weight  their  resolutions 
ought  to  have !  Why,  sir,  there  never  has  been 
a  day  since  the  war  when  «  majority  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  opposed  an  income  tax. 
****** 

"But  they  say  that  the  income  tax  invites  per- 
jury ;  that  the  man  who  has  a  large  income  will 
swear  falsely,  and  thus  avoid  the  payment  of  the 
tax ;  and,  indeed,  ;hc  gentleman  from  Massachu- 
setts (Mr.  Wa!k<^)  admitted  that  his  district  was 
fail  of  such  people,  and  he  said  that  our  districts 


were,  too.  I  suppose  these  constituents  whom  he 
accuses  of  perjury  are  expected  to  pat  him  on 
the  back  when  he  goes  home  and  brag  about 
the  compliment  he  paid  them.  (Laughter  and 
applause.) 

"  If  there  is  a  man  in  my  district  whose  veracity 
is  not  worth  two  cents  on  the  dollar,  who  will 
perjure  himself  to  avoid  the  payment  of  a  just 
tax  imposed  by  law,  I  am  going  to  wait  until  he 
pleads  guilty  before  I  make  that  charge  against 
him.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

"  They  say  that  we  must  be  careful  and  not  in- 
vite perjury.  Why,  sirs,  this  Government  has  too 
much  important  business  on  hand  to  spend  its 
time  trying  to  bolster  up  the  morality  of  men 
who  can  not  be  trusted  to  swear  to  their  incomes. 
And  let  me  suggest  that  gentlemen  who  come  to 
this  House  and  tell  us  that  their  districts  are  full 
of  such  persons  are  treading  upon  dangerous 
ground.  If  a  man  will  hold  up  his  hand  to 
Heaven  and  perjure  his  soul  to  avoid  a  2  per 
cent,  tax  due  to  his  Government,  how  can  you 
trust  such  a  man  when  he  goes  into  court  and 
testifies  in  a  case  in  which  he  has  a  personal  in- 
terest? 

"If  ypur  districts  are  full  of  perjurers,  if  your 
districts  are  full  of  men  who  violate  with  impunity 
not  only  the  laws,  but  their  oaths,  do  you  not 
raise  a  question  as  to  the  honesty  of  the  methods 
by  which  they  have  accumulated  their  fortunes  ? 


172 

(Applause  on  the  Democratic  side.)  Instead  of 
abandoning  just  measures  for  fear  somebody  will 
perjure  himself,  let  them  be  enacted  into  law, 
and  then  if  anyone  perjures  himself  we  can  treat 
him  like  any  other  felon,  and  punish  him  for  his 
perjury.  (Applause.) 

"  But,  gentlemen  say  that  some  people  will  avoid 
the  tax,  and  that  therefore  it  is  unfair  to  the  peo- 
ple who  pay.  What  law  is  fully  obeyed  ?  Why 
are  criminal  courts  established,  except  to  punish 
people  who  violate  the  laws  which  society  has 
made  ?  The  man  who  pays  his  tax  need  not  con- 
cern himself  about  the  man  who  avoids  it,  unless, 
perhaps,  he  is  willing  to  help  prosecute  the  delin- 
quent. The  man  who  makes  an  honest  return 
and  complies  with  the  law  pays  no  more  than  the 
rate  prescribed,  and  if  the  possessors  of  large 
fortunes  escape  by  fraud  the  payment  of  one-half 
their  income  tax,  they  will  still  contribute  far  more 
than  they  do  now  to  support  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, and  to  that  extent  relieve  from  burdens 
those  who  now  pay  more  than  their  share. 

"  The  orentlemen  who  are  so  fearful  of  socialism 

O 

when  the  poor  are  exempted  from  an  income  tax, 
riew  with  indifference  those  methods  of  taxation 
which  give  the  rich  a  substantial  exemption. 
They  weep  more  because  fifteen  millions  are  to  be 
collected  from  the  incomes  of  the  rich  than  they 
do  at  the  collection  of  three  hundred  millions 
upon  the  goods  which  the  poor  consume.  And 


173 

when  an  attempt  is  made  to  equalize  these  bur- 
dens, not  fully,  but  partially  only,  the  people  of 
the  South  and  West  are  called  Anarchists. 

"  I  deny  the  accusation,  sirs.  It  is  among  the 
people  of  the  South  and  West,  on  the  prairies  and 
in  the  mountains,  that  you  find  the  staunchest  sup- 
porters of  government  and  the  best  friends  of  law 
and  order. 

"  You  may  not  find  among  these  people  the 
great  fortunes  which  are  accumulated  in  cities,  nor 
will  you  find  the  dark  shadows  which  these  for- 
tunes throw  over  the  community,  but  you  will  find 
those  willing  to  protect  the  rights  of  property, 
even  while  they  demand  that  property  shall  bear 
its  share  of  taxation.  You  may  not  find  among 
them  so  much  of  wealth,  but  you  will  find  men 
who  are  not  only  willing  to  pay  their  taxes  to  sup- 
port the  Government,  but  are  willing  whenever 
necessary  to  offer  up  their  lives  in  its  defense. 

"  These  people,  sir,  whom  you  call  Anarchists 
because  they  ask  that  the  burdens  of  government 
shall  be  equally  borne,  these  people  have  ever 
borne  the  cross  on  Calvary  and  saved  their 
country  with  their  blood. 

"Let  me  refer  again,  in  conclusion,  to  the  state- 
ment made  by  the  gentleman  from  New  York 
(Mr.  Cockran),  that  the  rich  people  of  his  city 
favor  the  income  tax.  In  a  letter  which  appeared 
in  the  New  York  World  on  the  7th  of  this  month, 
Ward  McAllister,  the  leader  of  the  'Four  Hun- 


dred,'  enters  a  very  emphatic  protest  against  the 
income  tax.  (Derisive  laughter.)  Here  is  an 
extract : 

"In  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn  the  local 
taxation  is  ridiculously  high,  in  spite  of  the 
virtuous  protest  to  the  contrary  by  the  officials  in 
authority.  Add  to  this  high  local  taxation  an  in- 
come tax  of  2  per  cent,  on  every  income  exceed- 
ing $4,000,  and  many  of  our  best  people  will  be 
driven  out  of  the  country.  An  impression  seems 
to  exist  in  the  minds  of  our  great  Democratic 
Solons  in  Congress  that  a  rich  man  would  give  up 
all  his  wealth  for  the  privilege  of  living  in  this 
country.  A  very  short  period  of  income  taxation 
would  show  these  gentlemen  their  mistake.  The 
custom  is  growing  from  year  to  year  for  rich  men 
to  go  abroad  and  live,  where  expenses  for  the 
necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life  are  not  nearly  so 
high  as  they  are  in  this  country.  The  United 
States,  in  spite  of  their  much  boasted  natural ' 
resources,  could  not  maintain  such  a  strain  for  any 
considerable  length  of  time.  (Laughter.) 

"But  whither  will  these  people  fly?  If  their 
tastes  are  English, 'quite  English,  you  know,' and 
they  stop  in  London,  they  will  find  a  tax  of  more 
than  2  per  cent,  assessed  upon  incomes;  if  they 
look  fora  place  of  refuge  in  Prussia,  they  will  find 
an  income  tax  of  4  per  cent.;  if  they  search  for 
seclusion  among  the  mountains  of  Switzerland, 
they  will  find  an  income  tax  of  8  per  cent.;  if  they 


seek  repose  under  the  sunny  skies  of  Italy,  they 
will  find  an  income  tax  of  more  than  12  per  cent.; 
if  they  take  up  their  abode  in  Austria,  they  will 
find  a  tax  of  20  per  cent.  I  repeat,  Whither  will 
they  fly?" 

Mr.  Weadock:  "The  gentleman  will  allow  me 
to  suggest  that  at  Monte  Carlo  such  a  man  would 
not  have  to  pay  any  tax  at  all."  (Laughter.) 

Mr.  Bryan:  "Then,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  presume 
to  Monte  Carlo  he  would  go,  and  that  there  he 
would  give  up  to  the  wheel  of  fortune  all  the 
wealth  of  which  he  would  not  give  a  part  to 
support  the  Government  which  enabled  him  to 
accumulate  it.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

"  Are  there  really  any  such  people  in  this 
country?  Of  all  the  mean  men  I  have  ever 
known,  I  have  never  known  one  so  mean  that  I 
would  be  willing  to  say  of  him  that  his  patriotism 
was  less  than  2  per  cent.  deep.  (Laughter  and 
applause.) 

"  There  is  not  a  man  whom  I  would  charge 
with  being  willing  to  expatriate  himself  rather 
than  contribute  from  his  abundance  to  the  support 
of  the  Government  that  protects  him. 

"If  'some  of  our  best  people'  prefer  to  leave 
the  country  rather  than  pay  a  tax  of  2  per  cent., 
God  pity  the  worst.  (Laughter.) 

"  If  we  have  people  who  value  free  government 
so  little  that  they  prefer  to  live  under  monarchical 
institutions,  even  without  an  income  tax,  rather 


176 

than  live  under  the  stars  and  stripes  and  pay  a  2 
per  cent,  tax,  we  can  better  afford  to  lose  them 
and  their  fortunes  than  risk  the  contaminating  in- 
fluence of  their  presence.  (Applause.) 

"I  will  not  attempt  to  characterize  such  persons. 
If  Mr.  McAllister  is  a  true  prophet,  if  we  are  to 
lose  some  of  our  '  best  people '  by  the  imposition 
of  an  income  tax,  let  them  depart,  and  as  they 
leave  without  regret  the  land  of  their  birth,  let 
them  go  with  the  poet's  curse  ringing  in  their 
ears: 

" '  Breathes  there  the  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 

This  is  my  own,  my  NATIVE  LAND  ! 
Whose  heart  hath  ne'er  within  him  burned, 
As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned 

From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand  ? 
If  such  there  breathe,  go  mark  him  well ; 
For  him  no  minstrel  raptures  swell ; 
High  though  his  titles,  proud  his  name, 
Boundless  his  wealth  as  wish  can  claim ; 
Despite  those  titles,  power  and  pelf, 
The  wretch,  concentered  all  in  self, 
Living,  shall  forfeit  fair  renown, 
And,  doubly  dying,  shall  go  down 
To  the  vile  dust,  from  whence  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unhonored  and  unsung.'  " 

(Loud  and  long-continued  applause.) 

On  February  23,  1894,  the  Union  League  Club 

of  Chicago  gave  a  banquet  of  national  interest. 


177 

Covers  were  laid  for  500  guests.  The  speakers 
and  their  subjects  were  as  follows : 

Governor  McKinley  of  Ohio,  "  '  Washington  is 
the  Mightiest  Name  on  Earth ' — Lincoln  ;  "  John 
S.  Wise  of  New  York,  "  The  Due  Administration 
of  Justice  is  the  Firmest  Pillar  of  Good  Govern- 
ment ; "  Associate  Justice  David  J.  Brewer  of 
Washington,  D.  C.,  "  Lessons  from  Washington's 
Farewell  Address  ;"  Luther  Laflin  Mills  of  Illinois, 
"  'Tis  Essentially  True  That  Virtue  or  Morality  is 
a  Necessary  Spring  of  Popular  Government ; " 
Bishop  Charles  H.  Fowler  of  Minnesota,  "The 
Name  of  America  Must  Always  Exalt  the  Just 
Pride  of  Patriotism ;  "  William  J.  Bryan  of  Ne- 
braska, "  Patriotism." 

Mr.  Bryan's  address  on  this  occasion  is  of  more 
than  ordinary  interest  at  this  time.  He  spoke  as 
follows : 

"  Patriotism  is  defined  as  love  of  country,  and  is 
everywhere  recognized  as  the  highest  civic  virtue. 
Some  have  regarded  it  as  a  sentimental  attach- 
ment to  their  native  or  adopted  land  ;  some  have 
called  it  devotion  to  the  flag ;  and  still  others  have 
seen  in  it  that  higher  satisfaction  which  purchases 
natural  advantages.  But  whatever  may  be  its 
essence  or  the  form  of  its  expression,  patriotism 
has  ever  been  the  inspiration  of  statesman,  poet 
and  orator.  This  was  the  theme  of  Pericles  when 
he  commemorated  the  death  of  those  who  fell  at 
Salamis.  This  was  the  theme  of  Tennyson  when 


he  laid  his  graceful  tribute  of  praise  upon  the 
tomb  of  England's  greatest  general.  This  was 
the  theme  of  Patrick  Henry  when  his  eloquence 
aroused  our  revolutionary  sires  to  armed  resist- 
ance, and  gave  to  them  the  immortal  war-cry, 
'Liberty  or  death.'  This  was  the  theme  of  those 
who,  in  memory  of  Washington,  gave  to  their 
countrymen — not  a  poem  nor  an  oration,  but 
more  than  both  combined — a  monument,  the  most 
imposing  shaft  ever  erected  by  human  hands  in 
gratitude  to  man. 

"There  is  no  more  valuable  literature  than  that 
which  embalms  the  names  and  deeds  of  heroes  ; 
there  is  no  money  more  worthily  expended  than 
that  which  expresses  in  granite,  in  marble  or  in 
bronze,  a  people's  appreciation  of  their  patriots  ; 
and,  since  we  imitate  that  which  we  admire,  there 
are  no  reasons  more  laudable  in  purpose  and 
more  ennobling  in  effect  than  those,  like  the  pres- 
ent, which  cultivate  within  us  a  love  of  country  by 
the  study  of  those  who  deserve  their  country's 
love.  We  render  unto  him  due  meed  of  praise 
whose  sword  leaps  from  its  scabbard  at  his  coun- 
try's call ;  we  bestow  our  heart's  affection  upon 
the  volunteer  whose  time  and  means,  and  even 
life,  are  a  nation's  reliance  in  the  hour  of  peril, 
but  we  are  apt  to  overlook  the  labor  of  those 
whose  devotion  is  as  truly  shown  when  the  temple 
of  Janus  is  closed  and  the  implements  of  carnage 
give  place  to  the  tools  of  industry.  Sad,  indeed, 


179 

would  be  the  lot  of  this  generation  if  loyalty  could 
be  proved  only  in  the  service  of  Mars.  To  those 
who  are  of  the  aftermath  the  lines  of  Milton  bring 
sweet  assurance : 

"  '  Peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renown'd  than  war.' 

"Aye,  peace  hath  her  victories,  and  not  her 
victories  only,  but  her  responsibilities  as  well.  In 
this  land  of  ours,  where  government  derives  its 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed  and 
not  from  the  divine  right  of  kings,  the  call  to  duty 
is  as  imperative  when  it  comes  in  the  still,  small 
voice,  as  when  it  issues  from  the  cannon's  mouth. 
Does  it  not  require  as  much  devotion  to  discharge 
with  constant  and  conscientious  care  the  daily 
tasks  of  the  citizen  as  it  does  to  carry  a  musket? 
Does  it  not  require  as  much  self-sacrifice  to  list  all 
one's  property  for  taxation  as  it  does  to  enlist  in 
the  army?  Does  it  not  require  as  much  patriot- 
.  ism  to  serve  one's  country  well  in  the  election 
booth  as  it  does  to  march  to  the  strains  of  martial 
music  ?  Does  it  not  require  as  much  fortitude  to 
place  civil  duty  above  private  business  and  the 
common  weal  above  party  advantage  as  it  does  to 
command  a  company?  Does  it  not  require  as 
much  courage  to  resist  the  siege  of  a  lobby  as  it 
does  to  capture  a  city  ? 

"Time  forbids  more  than  a  passing  reference  to 

a    few  of  the   principal   duties    which   attach  to 
ll 


i8o 

citizenship  to-day.  There  is  a  growing  disposi- 
tion to  avoid  jury  service  and  all  manner  of 
excuses  are  given  by  those  who  find  it  incon- 
venient to  leave  their  work.  But  this  sacrifice  is 
not  a  matter  of  convenience,  it  is  a  matter  of 
necessity.  The  jury  system  was  never  more  cor- 
rect than  it  is  to-day,  and  to  preserve  it  as  a 
means  of  administering  justice,  men  of  'ordinary 
intelligence  and  of  approved  integrity'  must  con- 
stitute the  panel.  If  thieves  are  to  be  tried  before 
thieves  and  criminals  are  to  receive  their  acquittal 
at  the  hands  of  their  associates,  the  system  will 
become  a  hollow  mockery.  The  rights  of  liti- 
gants cannot  be  safely  submitted  to  the  profes- 
sional juror  and  the  professional  jury  packer.  If 
men  plead  pressure  of  business  as  a  reason  for 
shirking  this  duty,  let  them  remember  that  large 
business  interests  are  safe  only  under  good  gov- 
ernment. How  many,  like  Naaman,  the  leper, 
stand  ready  to  do  some  great  things  for  their 
country,  but  despise  those  humbler  duties  which 
make  civil  liberty  possible. 

"Another  danger  which  we  have  to  meet  is  cor- 

o 

ruption  in  official  life.  The  boodler  is  abroad 
in  the  land,  and  the  evidences  of  his  handiwork 
are  too  often  apparent.  He  is  as  dangerous 
to  the  welfare  of  the  country  as  an  army  with 
banners,  and  as  insidious  as  he  is  dangerous. 
Whether  he  enriches  himself  by  his  own  malfeas- 
ance in  office  or  finds  a  profit  in  using  the  legis- 


lative  powers  for  private  purposes,  he  is  a  public 
enemy  and  must  be  scourged  from  the  temple. 
We  cannot  depend  entirely  upon  criminal  courts 
to  remedy  this  evil,  for  guilt  may  exist  in  the 
absence  of  legal  proofs  sufficient  to  overcome  all 
reasonable  doubt.  Public  opinion,  that  ever 
potent  force  in  popular  government,  must  hold  to 
strict  accountability  those  who  are  trusted  with 
authority.  Mr.  Jefferson  has  wisely  said: 

'"Confidence  is  everywhere  the  parent  of 
despotism — free  government  is  founded  in  jeal- 
ousy arid  not  in  confidence,'  and  it  may  be  added, 
the  indifference  of  the  citizen  is  the  opportunity 
of  the  knave. 

"  If  we  were  asked  to  name  the  greatest  dan- 
ger which  threatens  our  political  life  as  a  nation, 
what  danger  would  we  point  out  ?  Not  protection 
or  free  trade — a  patriotic  people  will  rid  them- 
selves of  either  if  bad ;  not  a  gold  nor  a  silver 
nor  a  paper  standard — a  patriotic  people  will 
settle  the  money  question  according  to  the  best 
interests  of  all ;  not  extravagance  nor  stringency 
in  appropriations — a  patriotic  people  will  support 
their  Government  with  sufficient  liberality,  and  will 
in  time  check  unnecessary  expenditures  ;  not  State 
sovereignty  nor  the  centralization  of  power — a 
patriotic  people  will  wisely  limit  the  authority  of 
the  general  and  local  Governments.  These  are 
all  great  questions  and  may  well  occupy  the  best 
thought  of  the  country  and  challenge  the  serious 


182 

consideration  of  both  citizen  and  official,  but 
there  is  a  question  which  is  higher,  deeper  and 
broader  than  any  or  all  of  these  :  Will  the  citizen 
be  as  patriotic  when  he  sits  beneath  the  olive 
branch  of  peace  as  when  he  follows  the  eagles  of 
war? 

"  It  has  been  said  that  the  '  voice  of  the  people 
is  the  voice  of  God,'  but  that  voice  must  be  heard 
to  be  effective.  It  must  be  expressed  and  obeyed 
before  it  can  assume  supreme  power.  Some 
boast  that  they  take  no  part  in  politics  and  talk  as 
if  participating  in  the  business  of  the  Government 
were  beneath  them.  Shame  upon  such  ingrates. 

"  The  man  who  is  too  good  to  take  part  in  poli- 
tics is  not  good  enough  to  deserve  the  blessings 
of  a  free  Government.  Suffrage  is  given  to  the 
citizen  not  merely  as  a  personal  privilege,  but  as  a 
public  trust,  and  should  be  exercised  as  such. 
The  man  who  tries  to  vote  twice  is  scarcely  more 
to  be  feared  than  the  man  who  is  not  interested 
enough  to  vote  once.  The  few  who  control  pri- 
maries in  the  interest  of  the  machine  are  scarcely 
more  to  be  blamed  than  the  many  who,  by  re- 
maining away,  not  only  permit,  but  invite,  misrep- 
resentation. The  duty  of  the  citizen  does  not  end 
when  he  contributes  his  just  proportion  of  the 
taxes  collected  by  the  Government ;  it  does  not 
end  when  he  goes  to  the  polls  and  chooses  between 
the  candidates  nominated ;  his  full  duty  requires 
attendance  upon  conventions,  mass  meetings,  cau- 


cuses  and  primaries  where  public  opinion  finds 
expression  and  policies  are  initiated.  Not  only  is 
there  a  prevalent  disregard  of  political  duties,  but 
parents  are  often  more  solicitous  about  leaving  a 
fortune  to  their  children  than  they  are  about 
training  them  for  the  responsibilities  of  citizen- 
ship. If  the  political  world  is  full  of  impurity,  the 
son  should  be  prepared  to  purify  it,  for  in  it  he 
must  live  whether  it  be  foul  or  clean.  It  was  the 
boast  of  the  Roman  matron  that  she  was  able  to 
rear  strong  and  courageous  sons  for  the  battle- 
field ;  let  it  be  the  work  of  the  American  mothers 
that  they  are  able  to  send  forth  to  do  battle  for 
humanity  brave  and  manly  sons  who  can  mingle 
in  politics  without  contamination  and  serve  their 
country  without  dishonor.  No  age  has  faced 
graver  problems  than  those  which  now  press  us 
for  solution.  No  generation  ever  enjoyed  greater 
opportunities  for  intelligent,  heroic  devotion  to  the 
country's  good.  It  is  as  important  for  us  to  pre- 
serve our  liberties  as  it  was  for  our  forefathers  to 
secure  them,  and  as  we  meet  about  this  board  to 
do  homage  to  him  whose  sword  achieved  our  in- 
dependence, and  whose  wisdom  guided  the  foot- 
steps of  the  infant  Republic,  I  can  propose  no  more 
appropriate  sentiment  than  this : 

"  '  The  United  States — secure  in  peace  or  war, 
when  the  people  so  act,  at  all  times,  in  all  places 
and  under  all  circumstances,  that  each  is  worthy 


of  that  noblest  of  all  names — an  American 
citizen.' ' 

On  March  2,  1894,  Mr.  Bryan  introduced  in  the 
House  of  Representatives  the  following : 

"  Whereas,  An  act  entitled  '  An  act  directing 
the  purchase  of  silver  bullion  and  the  issue  of 
treasury  notes  thereon,  and  for  other  purposes,' 
approved  July  14,  1890,  provides  'that  upon  de- 
mand of  the  holder  of  any  of  the  treasury  notes 
herein  provided  for,  the  Secretary  shall,  under 
such  regulations  as  he  may  prescribe,  redeem 
such  notes  in  gold  or  silver  coin,  at  his  discretion,' 
it  being  the  established  policy  of  the  United 
States  to  maintain  the  two  metals  on  a  parity 
with  each  other  upon  the  present  legal  ratio  or 
such  ratio  as  may  be  provided  by  law ;  and 

"Whereas,  This  provision  and  other  similar 
provisions  for  redemption  in  coin  have  been  con- 
strued to  mean  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
has  no  discretion,  but  must  redeem  in  that  coin 
which  the  holder  of  the  obligation  demands ; 
and 

"Whereas,  such  construction  violates  both  the 
letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  law,  destroys  the 
principles  of  bimetallism  and  places  the  treasury 
at  the  mercy  of  any  who  may  conspire  to  reduce 
the  gold  reserve  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  an 
issue  of  bonds,  therefore 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and   House  of 


'85 

Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  America 
in  Congress  assembled : 

"That  all  obligations  heretofore  or  hereafter 
incurred  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
whether  such  obligations  bear  interest  or  not, 
which  according  to  their  terms  call  for  payment  in 
coin,  shall  be  payable  in  gold  or  silver  of  present 
weight  and  fineness  at  the  discretion  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  the  right  of  the 
holder  of  any  such  obligation  to  demand  payment 
in  a  particular  kind  of  coin,  whether  gold  or  silver, 
is  hereby  expressly  denied;  and  that  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  is  directed  to  maintain  gold  and 
silver  coin  on  a  parity  with  each  other  upon  the 
present  legal  ratio,  or  such  ratio  as  may  be  pro- 
vided by  law,  by  receiving  the  same  without  dis- 
crimination against  either  metal  in  payment  of  all 
public  dues,  customs  and  taxes." 

Speaking  of  this  in  an  interview,  Mr.  Bryan 
said: 

"The  object  of  the  bill  is  to  make  certain  a 
law  now  upon  the  statute  books,  and  to  prevent 
the  misinterpretation  and  misconstruction  of  it. 
If  it  had  been  the  object  of  the  law  to  give  to  the 
note-holder  the  right  to  demand  whichever  coin 
he  preferred,  certainly  the  statutes  would  not 
have  left  it  to  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  to  pay  whichever  one  he  preferred. 
The  option  cannot  be  given  to  the  note-holder 
and  the  Government  at  the  same  time,  and  yet  the 


i86 

department  has  construed  a  subsequent  provision, 
in  regard  to  maintaining  the  parity,  in  a  way 
which  absolutely  destroys  the  discretion  expressly 
given  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  If  this 
bill  can  be  brought  before  the  House,  it  will  enable 
those  who  believe  in  bimetallism  and  who  believe 
that  the  Government  owes  as  high  duty  to  all  the 
people  as  it  does  to  those  who  attempt  to  i'njure 
its  credit  by  raiding  the  gold  reserve,  to  express 
themselves  and  to  put  the  coin  redemption  pro- 
vision in  such  a  shape  as  to  prevent  further 
misunderstanding  or  misconstruction.  We  are 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  single  standard  and 
it  is  well  to  have  the  record  made  before  the  next 
election." 

By  this  time  the  administration  was  using  its 
utmost  endeavors  to  rebuke  Bryan  for  his  defense 
of  Democratic  principles.  In  one  district  in  the 
State  a  man  was  appointed  to  office  who  it  was 
known  had  worked  openly  and  avowedly  against 
the  regular  Democratic  nominee  for  Congress 
and  in  favor  of  the  Republican  candidate.  On 
the  day  following  that  appointment,  a  number  of 
Bryan's  recommendations  were  turned  down,  and 
this  policy  of  refusing  every  courtesy  to  the  young 
Congressman  was  adhered  to  to  the  end  by  the 
Cleveland  administration.  The  situation  in  this 
respect  is  well  described  in  an  editorial  from  the 
World-Herald,  March  15,  1894. 

"  There  are  some  strange  influences  at  work  in 


i87 

the  distribution  of  patronage  in  Nebraska.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  that  while  George  D. 
Meiklejohn,  the  Republican  Congressman,  can 
have  some  of  his  friends  appointed  to  office, 
friendship  for  William  J.  Bryan,  the  one  Demo- 
cratic Congressman  from  this  State,  is  quite  fatal 
to  an  applicant's  chances.  There  is  little  use  of 
the  friends  of  Mr.  Bryan  keeping  their  eyes 
closed  to  the  real  situation.  The  defeat  of  Mr. 
Bryan's  candidate  at  Nebraska  City  shows  beyond 
all  doubt — if  any  doubt  has  existed — that  the 
anti-Bryan  influences  are  the  strongest  with  the 
administration.  It  will  be  said  that  Nebraska  City 
being  the  home  of  Secretary  Morton,  he  should 
be  permitted  to  name  the  postmaster,  but  every- 
one understands  what  Mr.  Morton  has  so  often 
and  so  plainly  stated,  that  he  is  not  interfering 
with  Federal  appointments.  It  might  with  equal 
propriety  be  claimed  that  Mr.  Bryan  should  be 
permitted  to  name  the  postmaster  at  his  home. 
But  this  privilege  was  not  granted  him.  A  sec- 
ond choice  was  forced  upon  him,  and  his  oppo- 
nents now  claim  that  they  suggested  this  second 
choice  to  the  President. 

"It  maybe  true  that  the  President  was  warranted 
in  refusing  to  appoint  Calhoun  at  Lincoln  because 
of  Calhoun's  criticism  of  Presidential  action.  But 
in  the  Nebraska  City  case  there  was  no  question 
of  Boydston's  '  straight  democracy.'  He  is  a 
young  man  of  high  character.  He  supported  Mr. 


i88 

Morton  for  Governor  with  the  same  zeal  that  he 
labored  for  Mr.  Bryan  for  Congress.  In  Ne- 
braska City's  democracy  Boydston  has  been  the 
cheerful  hewer  of  wood  and  drawer  of  water. 
Because  of  his  ability  and  his  enthusiasm  he  came 
to  be  known  as  Bryan's  personal  representative 
at  Nebraska  City.  Against  either  Boydston's 
democracy  or  his  character  nothing  could  be  said. 
He  was,  however,  guilty  of  the  unpardonable  sin 
— he  was  a  '  friend  of  Bryan.'  The  fact  that  he 
had  also  been  a  zealous  friend  to  every  other 
Democratic  nominee  could  not  make  amends  for 
the  greatest  '  crime '  in  Nebraska's  political 
calender. 

"  He  had  not  criticised  Cleveland,  but  on  the 
contrary  was  one  of  the  President's  enthusiastic 
admirers.  Anticipating  the  punishment  for  his 
offense  in  being  zealous  in  the  election  of  Ne- 
braska's one  Democratic  Congressman,  Mr. 
Boydston  recently  accepted  the  Democratic  nom- 
ination for  City  Clerk  at  Nebraska  City.  It  will 
be  seen  that  he  anticipated  correctly. 

"  The  Third  District  Democratic  patronage  has 
been  distributed  to  reward  friends  of  a  Repub- 
lican Congressman. 

"  In  the  First  District,  Democratic  patronage 
has  been  distributed  to  rebuke  friends  of  the  one 
Democratic  Congressman  from  Nebraska. 

"  These  are  samples  of  '  Tobe  Castor  De- 
mocracy.' 


189 

"This  may  be  the  way  to  build  up  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  but  we  doubt  it.  And  it  may  also  be 
said  that  it  is  the  poorest  method  imaginable  to 
tear  down  Bryan. 

"It  is  just  as  well  to  understand  right  now  that 
Bryan's  recommendation  to  the  administration  is 
hardly  worth  the  paper  upon  which  it  is  written. 
But  it  is  equally  true  that  the  young  Congressman 
stands  closer  to  the  people  of  Nebraska  to-day 
than  ever  before.  And  every  move  that  bears 
the  indication  of  an  effort  to  rebuke  him  will  only 
serve  to  increase  the  number  of  his  admirers  in 
Nebraska." 

On  March  15,  1894,  Mr.  Bryan  stopped  in 
Omaha  on  his  way  to  his  home  in  Lincoln,  from 
Washington.  He  had  made  such  an  admirable 
record  in  Congress  that  the  Democrats  of  Omaha, 
many  of  whom  had  helped  the  administration  to 
rebuke  the  young  Congressman  at  the  State  con- 
vention, turned  out  en  masse  to  give  him  an  ova- 
tion. It  was  noticeable  that  many  of  those  who 
had  been  most  conspicuous  in  the  effort  to  rebuke 
him  in  1893  made  themselves  conspicuous  in  the 
effort  to  do  him  honor  on  this  occasion.  There 
were  many  in  that  vast  audience  who  differed 
radically  from  the  young  Congressman  in  opinion 
on  the  money  question,  but  he  preached  to  them 
the  gospel  of  bimetallism  eloquently  and  earnestly 
as  he  had  at  every  opportunity  presented  in  his 
career.  He  spoke  strongly  and  eloquently  of  the 


190 

necessity  of  making  silver  as  well  as  gold  a 
money  metal,  the  foundation  for  the  currency  of 
the  country  and  of  the  world,  and  predicted  that 
his  audience  would  yet  see  gold  and  silver  go 
arm  in  arm  to  the  United  States  mint.  It  was 
the  great  coming  question  he  declared  and  no 
party  was  great  enough  to  live  unless  it  met 
every  question  as  it  came  up.  In  closing  Mr. 
Bryan  completely  captivated  his  great  audience 
when  he  at  once  graciously  acknowledged  the  re- 
ception accorded  him  and  declared  his  adherence 
to  the  principle  to  which  he  is  so  thoroughly 
committed. 

"  My  friends,"  said  Mr.  Bryan  in  conclusion, 
"  you  have  been  very  kind  to  me  here.  Kind  far 
beyond  my  deserts.  For  your  personal  consider- 
ation and  the  political  honors  you  have  helped  to 
confer  upon  me  I  owe  you  more  than  I  can  ever 
repay,  but  I  feel  so  strongly  upon  this  subject 
that  even  should  every  friend  I  have  turn  from 
me,  believing  as  I  do  that  inconceivable  misery 
would  be  wrought  by  a  single  gold  standard,  still 
would  I  preach  the  doctrine  of  bimetallism  from 
every  stump."  The  great  audience  rose  as  one 
man  and  cheered  the  young  orator  for  fifteen 
minutes.  Thousands  of  people  crowded  upon  the 
platform  and  congratulated  him  personally  and 
bid  him  God  speed  in  his  good  work. 

On  the  day  following  this  reception,  the  Omaha 
World-Herald  contained  an  editorial  under  the 


head  line,  "The  Grave  Gives  Up  Its  Dead,"  as 

follows : 

"THE    GRAVE    GIVES    UP    ITS    DEAD. 

"  Congressman  Bryan  has  reason  to  be  proud  of 
the  splendid  reception  accorded  him  by  the  people 
of  Omaha.  The  Democrats  seemed  to  be  a  unit 
in  doing  honor  to  the  young  man,  whose  public 
career  has  been  an  honor  to  his  State.  Men  who 
have  disagreed  with  him  upon  the  financial  ques- 
tion were  as  enthusiastic  as  their  free  silver 
brethren  in  paying  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
young  Congressman. 

"  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  if  Mr.  Bryan  had 
been  offered  as  a  member  of  a  resolutions  com- 
mittee at  the  Exposition  hall  Thursday  night,  in- 
stead of  the  Douglas  delegation  being  solidly 
against  him,  it  would  have  been  solid  in  his  favor. 

"  Mr.  Bryan  has  always  manifested  a  tender  feel- 
ing for  the  people  of  Douglas  county,  for  it  was 
here  that  he  received  in  his  first  election  a  vote 
that  swelled  his  majority  to  immensity.  It  was 
here,  in  fact,  that  he  made  the  first  speech  that 
stamped  him  as  a  student  of  political  economy, 
and  here  he  has  always  had  a  host  of  friends 
whose  devotion  to  him  could  not  be  questioned. 

"  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  refer  to  the  breezy 
incidents  at  the  last  State  Convention,  when,  in 
the  language  of  one  enthusiast,  '  We  laid  the 
Young  Man  Eloquent  to  rest  in  the  grave.'  But 
the  scenes  at  the  Exposition  hall  on  Thursday 


192 

night  impressed  one  with  the  thought  that  'the 
grave '  has  given  up  its  dead. 

"This  splendid  reception  to  Bryan,  coming  im- 
mediately upon  the  announcement  that  he  has 
'once  more  been  turned  down  by  the  administra- 
tion,' is  not  without  its  significance.  It  demon- 
strates that  while  the  young  Congressman's  in- 
fluence with  the  administration  has  become  weaker 
and  weaker,  his  power  with  the  people  has  grown 
stronger  and  stronger. 

"  While  the  reception  Bryan  received  was  a 
splendid  tribute  to  himself,  like  the  blessing  of 
mercy  it  was  creditable  alike  to  them  that  gave 
and  him  that  received.  Many  men  who  were 
earnest  in  the  successful  attempt  to  'sit  down  on 
Bryan '  at  the  State  Convention  were  equ ally- 
earnest  and  enthusiastic  in  doing  him  honor  at 
the  great  gathering  on  Thursday  night.  Many 
of  these  may  not  have  changed  their  views  since 
that  time,  but  it  is  fair  to  believe  that  if  that  State 
Convention  were  to  be  held  to-day  the  '  sitting 
down  '  process  would  be  carried  out  in  an  entirely 
different  manner. 

"There  are  many  men  in  Omaha  who  do  not 
entirely  agree  with  Bryan,  who  are  proud  of  his 
record  and  his  fame. 

"Bryan's  strength  is  in  his  candor  as  well  as  his 
ability.  Before  him  at  the  Exposition  hall  were 
the  members  of  the  two  local  Democratic  organi- 
zations and  representative  Democrats  in  every 


Walk  of  life.  Upon  every  issue  of  the  day  be 
made  himself  understood.  He  took  issue  with 
the  administration  upon  the  issue  of  bonds,  upon 
the  repeal  of  the  Sherman  law,  and  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  refer  to  the  well-known  words  of  the 
Democratic  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  in  the 
halcyon  days  of  that  gentleman's  championship  of 
free  silver.  No  other  Democrat  has  ever  lived  in 
Nebraska  who  could  receive  the  open  recognition 
and  the  explicit  tribute  of  organized  Democracy 
in  this  city  at  the  moment  when  he  boldly  assailed 
the  attitude  of  the  Democratic  administration 
upon  the  great  issues  of  the  day;  and  when  he 
said,  'You  have  been  very  kind  to  me  here,  but 
if  every  friend  I  have  in  the  world  should  turn 
against  me,  as  long  as  I  believe  as  I  do  on  this 
question  I  will  preach  it  from  every  stump' — when 
he  said  this,  there  was  no  man  present  who  could 
restrain  himself  from  joining  in  the  applause  which 
was  given  as  a  tribute  to  the  sincerity  and  the 
courage  of  a  public  man. 

"The  Omaha  reception  to  Mr.  Bryan  must  be 
accepted  as  formal  recognition  of  the  fact  that  he 
is  to-day  the  leader  of  the  Nebraska  Democracy. 
The  White  House  may  send  its  messengers 
through  the  political  Charnel  House  for  '  leaders  ' 
in  the  distribution  of  patronage,  but  the  Democ- 
racy of  Nebraska,  unawed  and  uninfluenced  by 
the  hope  of  reward  to  any  individual,  will  prefer 
to  doff  its  hat  in  the  interesting  presence  of  Wil- 


194 

liam  J.  Bryan — the  pigmy  in  Presidential  favor, 
the  giant  in  popular  esteem." 

On  May  8,  1894,  an  incident  occurred  in  the 
House  which  illustrates  the  conscientious  activity 
of  the  Democratic  nominee  for  President.  The 
Committee  on  Public  Lands  and  Buildings  brought 
up  a  bill  to  appropriate  $300,000  to  buy  a  site  for 
a  new  printing  office.  The  debate  ran  along  all 
through  the  day.  After  adjournment  Mr.  Bryan 
visited  the  various  sites  suggested,  examined  the 
Government  land  suitable  for  the  purpose  and 
consulted  real  estate  agents  as  to  the  price  of 
property  near  the  proposed  sites. 

The  following  morning  he  took  charge  of  the 
fight  against  the  bill  and  showed  that  the  land 
recommended  by  the  committee  was  being  valued 
at  $100,000  to  $150,000  above  its  actual  market 
value.  He  also  showed  that  the  Government 
owned  suitable  land  for  the  building  and  did  not 

o 

need  to  buy.  He  succeeded  in  carrying  by  a  vote 
of  149  to  35  a  resolution  to  instruct  the  committee 
to  select  a  site  on  land  owned  by  the  United 
States.  His  presentation  of  the  facts  was  so 
clear  and  convincing  that  he  carried  the  House  in 
spite  of  the  unanimous  opposition  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Public  Lands  and  Buildings. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
HOW   NEBRASKA  WAS  REDEEMED. 

In  the  spring  of  1894  the  silver  sentiment  in 
Nebraska  had  undergone  a  wonderful  increase 
and  the  Democrats  in  all  parts  of  the  State  became 
restless.  The  party  in  Nebraska  was  dominated 
by  inferior  men  who  had  obtained  their  power 
simply  because  they  were  the  only  ones  who  were 
willing  to  do  the  bidding  of  the  administration, 
without  regard  to  what  the  orders  might  be.  The 
dominant  element  in  control  of  the  State  Com- 
mittee had  the  aid  and  co-operation  of  the  greater 
number  of  the  Federal  officials.  It  was  evident 
too  that  they  had  plenty  of  money  at  their  com- 
mand, and  it  is  certain  that  they  had  all  the  rail- 
road passes  that  were  necessary  for  the  conven- 
ience of  their  fellows.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
silver  men  were  without  money,  but  they  were 
not  without  courage  and  determination.  The 

o 

administration  men  felt  confident  of  their  ability 
to  hold  power  in  Nebraska,  unquestioned  for  time 
to  come,  and  certainly  they  had  good  reason 
for  this  confidence. 

But  one  evening  in  the  month  of  May  1894, 
there  assembled  in  a  private  room  in  the  Paxton 
Hotel,  in  Omaha,  a  number  of  Silver  Democrats 

12  (195) 


196 

of  Nebraska.  It  is  just  and  proper  that  the 
names  of  these  gentlemen  should  go  into  history, 
for  they  laid  the  foundation  for  one  of  the  greatest 
triumphs  ever  accomplished  in  the  record  of  a 
State.  Their  labor  was  entirely  disinterested,  for 
there  was  not  one  man  among  the  number  who 
was  a  candidate  for  public  office  either  present  or 
prospective.  They  were  all  property  holders  and 
men  of  wide  business  experience,  and  they  had 
learned  at  great  personal  expense  to  appreciate 
the  evils  of  the  single  gold  standard.  The  names 
of  these  men  are  as  follows:  Judge  Joseph  E. 
Ong  of  Geneva,  Nebraska;  J.  B.  Kitchen  of 
of  Omaha,  Nebraska;  C.  J.  Smythe  of  Omaha; 
Nebraska;  J.  H.  Broady  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska, 
William  H.  Thomsen  of  Grand  Island,  Ne- 
braska; James  C.  Dahlman  of  Chadron,  Ne- 
braska; State  Senator  John  Thompson  of  Free- 
mont,  Nebraska;  G.  A.  Luikhart  of  Norfolk, 
Nebraska ;  John  C.  Vanhousen  of  Schuyler, 
Nebraska;  W.  H.  Kelligar  of  Auburn,  Nebraska; 
Frank  J.  Morgan  of  Plattsmouth,  Nebraska ; 
Edwin  Falloon,  of  Falls  City,  Nebraska,  and  C. 
D.  Casper  of  David  City,  Nebraska. 

These  gentlemen  determined  to  call  a  State  con- 
ference of  the  Free  Silver  Democrats  of  Nebraska 
and  they  fixed  June  21  as  the  date  on  which  that 
conference  should  be  held.  They  determined  to 
have  the  call  for  this  conference  signed  by  250 
representative  Democrats  from  all  parts  of 


i97 

the  State,  and  they  determined  that  the  matter 
should  be  an  entire  secret  until  all  these  signa- 
tures had  been  obtained  and  the  call  had  been 
formally  issued.  It  will  be  readily  understood 
that  it  required  a  great  deal  of  skillful  effort  to 
keep  such  an  interesting  plan  a  secret,  particularly 
when  such  a  large  number  of  persons  were 
required  to  sign  the  call.  But  the  plan  was  well 
carried  out  and  like  a  lightning  flash  from  a  clear 
sky  the  newspapers  of  the  State  on  May  24, 
1894,  contained,  under  glaring  head  lines,  this 
formal  call: 

"CALL   TO    FREE  SILVER    DEMOCRATS. 

"  Believing  that  the  question  of  the  restoration  of 
the  double  standard  of  gold  and  silver  as  money 
of  ultimate  redemption  and  standard  of  values  is 
now  one  of  the  foremost  issues  in  the  minds  of 
the  voters  of  Nebraska,  and  that  the  change  from 
the  double  to  the  single  standard  is,  has  been,  and 
will  continue  to  be,  until  reversed,  a  grievous 
wrong  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  people  of  Nebraska ;  and  believ- 
ing that  nine-tenths  of  the  Democrats  of  Ne- 
braska so  feel,  and  that  they  have  not  always  been 
fairly  represented  on  the  subject  by  the  Demo- 
cratic conventions  of  Nebraska ;  and  believing 
that  the  time  has  come  when  the  welfare  of  the 
party  in  this  State  imperatively  demands  a  plain, 


198 

unequivocal  statement  of  the  party  on  that  sub- 
ject; 

"Therefore,  we,  the  undersigned  Democrats  of 
Nebraska,  for  the  purpose  of  propagating  the 
double  standard  doctrine  in  the  Democratic  party 
and  enabling  the  masses  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  this  State  to  obtain  the  fairest  expression  of 
their  views  on  that  subject  in  the  conventions  of 
the  future,  do  hereby  call  a  State  conference  of 
Free  Silver  Democrats,  to  be  held  at  Omaha,  com- 
mencing at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Thursday, 
June  21,  1894,  at  which  conference  will  be  organ- 
ized a  'Nebraska  Democratic  Free  Coinage 
League.'" 

This  call  was  signed  by  250  representative  Dem- 
ocrats. On  June  21  this  great  conference  was 
called  to  order.  One  thousand  delegates  were  in 
attendance.  The  Nebraska  Bimetallic  League 
was  organized  and  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted : 

"  We  send  greeting  to  our  fellow-Democrats  of 
Nebraska  and  ask  their  earnest  co-operation  and 
aid  in  electing  delegates  from  every  county  in  the 
State  to  the  Democratic  State  Convention  of  1894, 
pledged  to  vote  for  the  insertion  in  the  Democratic 
State  platform  of  the  following  plank  : 

" '  We  favor  the  immediate  restoration  of  the 
free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  gold  and  silver  at 
the  present  ratio  of  1 6  to  i,  without  waiting  for 
the  aid  and  consent  of  any  other  nation  on  earth.' 


HON.   W.  J.   STONE, 

GoverDorkof_Missouri. 


CLAKK  HOWELL, 

Editor  of  the  Constitution,  Atlanta,  Ga. 


201 

"  In  the  effort  to  obtain  a  fair  expression  of 
Democratic  sentiment,  we  urge  upon  every  Dem- 
ocrat who  believes  in  the  principles  herein  enun- 
ciated to  participate  actively  and  vigorously  in  the 
selection  of  delegates  to  the  State  Convention. 

"We  recommend  that  in  every  county  of  the 
State  the  Democrats  who  oppose  this  proposed 
plank  be  invited  to  a  thorough  discussion  of  its 
merits,  to  the  end  that  the  Democratic  party  may 
act  intelligently  and  harmoniously  upon  this  great 
question. 

"We  propose  that  this  contest  shall  be  fought 
out  upon  clean  lines  and  with  intelligent  methods, 
but,  confident  in  the  correctness  of  our  position, 
we  also  propose  that  the  fight  shall  be  vigorous, 
and  that  no  effort  shall  be  spared  to  place  in  the 
platform  of  the  Democratic  party  the  same 
emphasis,  the  same  unmistakable  utterance  con- 
cerning the  great  question  of  finance,  as  has  been 
lastingly  imprinted  upon  our  platforms  concerning 
the  great  question  of  tariff  reform." 

Mr.  Bryan  addressed  the  Conference  on  the 
money  question  and  concluded  his  splendid  effort 
in  the  following  language: 

"I  bid  you  go  forth  to  battle;  upon  you  rests  a 
grave  responsibility,  and  going  forth  in  the  name 
of  the  party  that  you  love,  you  can  redeem  this 
country.  The  restoration  of  silver  is  only  one  of 
the  reforms,  but  if  the  Democratic  party  cannot 
accomplish  it,  it  cannot  accomplish  the  others,  for 


202 

the  same  power  opposes  all  the  reforms  demanded 
by  the  people  to-day.  Here  before  me  are  gray 
haired,  men  who  have  toiled  for  victory  for  long 
years  without  hope  of  reward — or  fear  of  pun- 
ishment. Their  eyes  may  not  behold  complete 
success,  but  they  may  know  that  their  labors  have 
not  been  in  vain,  and  when  the  time  comes  lie 
down  happy  in  the  promise: 

" '  Yea,  though  thou  lie  upon  the  dust, 

When  they  who  helped  thee  flee  in  fear, 
Die  full  of  hope  and  manly  trust, 
Like  those  who  fell  in  battle  here. 

"  '  Another  hand  thy  sword  shall  wield ; 

Another  hand  the  standard  wave ; 
Till  from  the  trumpet's  mouth  is  pealed 
The  blast  of  triumph  o'er  thy  grave.' " 

The  mighty  determination  of  the  silver  men 
thoroughly  alarmed  the  administration  forces.  At 
the  same  time  it  gave  hope  to  the  silver  Demo- 
crats of  the  State  and  from  all  parts  of  Nebraska 
came  encouraging  words  and  promises  of  loyal  as- 
sistance from  men  who  had  become  disgusted  with 

o 

the  manipulation  of  their  party  to  base  purposes. 
The  Silver  Democrats  at  their  conference  adopted 
a  courteous  resolution,  requesting  the  gold-bug 
State  Committee  to  call  an  early  convention,  in 
order  that  the  contest  might  be  properly  carried 
on.  But  the  committee  refused  to  adhere  to  the 


203 

request  and  insisted  on  calling  a  late  convention 
in  the  hope  that  the  gold  men  would  be  able  to 
repair  their  shattered  forces.  The  silver  men 
prepared  for  the  fight  and  organized  in  every 
county  of  the  State.  In  the  spring  of  1894  Mr. 
Bryan  had  announced  his  determination  not  to  be 
a  candidate  for  a  third  term  in  the  House  on  July 
28,  1 894.  The  following  letter  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Bryan : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  NEBRASKA  DEMOCRATIC  FREE 
COINAGE  LEAGUE,  GENEVA,  Neb.,  July  28,  1894. — 
[To  Hon.  William  J.  Bryan,  Washington,  D.  C] — 

Dear  Sir:  The  growing  sentiment  that  United 
States  Senators  should  be  the  choice  of  the  people 
make  it  essential  that  Nebraska  should  be  in  line 
with  other  States  with  this  progressive  idea.  Be- 
lieving that  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of 
Nebraska  desire  that  you  should  represent  this 
State  in  the  United  States  Senate,  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Nebraska  Democratic  Free 
Coinage  League,  respectfully  request  that  you  an- 
nounce yourself  as  a  candidate  for  this  high  office. 

"  We  desire  that  you  shall  at  the  same  time  an- 
nounce the  principles  which  will  guide  you  in  the 
event  that  you  are  elected,  and  also  that  you  shall 
make  a  thorough  canvass  of  the  State. 

o 

"  In  the  event  that  you  make  this  announcement, 
the  friends  of  bimetallism  in  the  Democratic  party 
propose  to  urge  your  nomination  by  that  party. 

"  We  are  confident  that  every  element  in   the 


2O4 

State  favorable  to  the  principles  you  have  so  ably 
championed  are  favorable  to  your  election  as 
United  States  Senator,  and  we  are  certain  that  the 
political  party  which  does  not  champion  your  can- 
didacy will  not  reflect  the  sentiment  of  the  masses 
of  the  people  of  Nebraska. 

"Awaiting  an  early  reply  we  are  yours,  truly, 

J.  E.  ONG,  President, 

F.  J.  MORGAN,  Secretary, 

G.  A.  LUIKHART,  Treasurer, 
JAMES  C.  DAHLMAN, 

H.  M.  BOYDSTON, 
C.  J.  SMYTHE, 
ROBERT  CLOGG, 
W.  D.  OLDHAM, 
JOHN  THOMPSON, 
WILLIAM  H.  THOMSEN, 
W.  H.  KELLIGAR, 
GEORGE  WELLS, 

Executive  Committee." 

On  August  5,  1894,  Mr.  Bryan  replied  to  this 
letter  consenting  to  become  a  candidate  for  the 
United  States  Senate.  In  this  letter  he  said  that 
if  he  should  be  elected  he  would  do  his  part  to 
repeal  the  unjust  laws  now  existing  and  to  secure 
such  new  legislation  as  might  be  necessary  to 
protect  each  citizen  in  the  enjoyment  of  life,  lib- 
erty and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  He  said  he 
would  labor  for  an  income  tax  as  a  permanent 


205 

part  of  our  financial  system,  preferring  a  gradu- 
ated tax,  but  accepting  the  tax  provided  for  in  the 
Wilson  Bill  as  a  step  toward  the  restoration  of 
equality  in  the  distribution  of  the  burdens  of 
government.  He  said  that  the  most  important 
and  far-reaching  question  which  would  confront 
the  Senator  then  to  be  elected  from  Nebraska  was 
the  money  question.  On  this  question  Mr.  Bryan 
said : 

"In  my  judgment  it  lies  at  the  bottom  of  the 
great  industrial  disturbance  now  prevalent 
throughout  the  world,  and  no  permanent  prosper- 
ity can  be  expected  until  silver  is  restored  to  its 
rightful  place  by  the  side  of  gold,  or  metallic 
money  is  abandoned  entirely.  For  reasons  which 
I  have  stated  on  former  occasions,  I  prefer  the 
remonetization  of  silver  to  the  complete  demone- 
tization of  both  of  the  precious  metals ,  and  I 
therefore  '  favor  the  immediate  restoration  of  the 
free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  gold  and  silver  at 
the  present  ratio  of  16  to  i,  without  waiting  for 
the  aid  or  consent  of  any  other  nation  on  earth.' 

"  Believing  that  the  creation  of  money  is  an  at- 
tribute of  sovereignty,  I  am  opposed  to  farming 
out  the  right  to  any  private  individual  or  corpora- 
tion whatever,  and,  in  case  the  precious  metals  do 
not  furnish  a  sufficient  supply,  Javor  the  issue  of 
full  legal  tender  paper,  redeemable  in  coin,  by  the 
General  Government,  in  such  quantities  that  the 
volume  of  the  currency,  gold,  silver  and  paper  to- 


206 

gather,  will  be  so  adjusted  to  the  needs  of  com- 
merce  that  the  dollar  will  be  stable  in  its  purchas- 
ing power,  and  thus  defraud  neither  debtor  nor 
creditor. 

"  I  shall  also  favor  such  legislation  as  will  here- 
after prohibit  the  making  of  contracts  for  a  par- 
ticular kind  of  money.  No  person  should  be 
permitted  to  demonetize  by  contract  a  nation's 
money. 

"The  fact  that  the  purchasers  of  the  bonds  re- 
cently issued  (and  issued,  as  I  believe,  without 
reasonable  excuse,)  drew  from  the  treasury  more 
than  $ 1 8,000,000  in  gold,  to  pay  for  the  bonds 
sold  to  obtain  gold,  shows  the  viciousness  of  the 
policy  followed  by  the  present  administration  and 
by  the  preceding  Republican  administration,  of 
allowing  the  holders  of  greenbacks  and  treasury 
notes  to  demand  gold  only  for  redemption.  The 
Government  has,  and  should  exercise,  the  option 
of  paying  either  gold  or  silver  on  all  coin  obliga- 
tions. If  the  Government  will  exercise  this  op- 
tion in  the  interest  of  the  people  generally,  it  will 
not  be  necessary  to  further  burden  the  taxpayers 
by  issues  of  interest-bearing  bonds  in  time  of 
peace.  Until  the  Government  does  exercise  its 
right  to  pay  in  silver,  when  that  is  most  conve- 
nient, it  will  be  at  the  mercy  of  any  band  of  con- 
spirators who  may* find  a  pecuniary  advantage  in 
depleting  the  gold  reserve.  No  issue  of  bonds, 
however  great  or  frequent,  can  maintain  a  gold 


207 

reserve  so  long  as  the  option  is  given  to  the  note- 
holder, and  the  moneyed  interests  find  a  profit  in 
the  increase  of  our  bonded  indebtedness." 

Mr.  Bryan  also  declared  in  favor  of  election  of 
Senators  by  the  people.  He  declared  in  favor  of  a 
liberal  pension  policy  toward  the  nation's  disabled 
soldiers.  He  favored  the  foreclosure  of  Govern- 
ment liens  on  all  Pacific  Railways,  and  their  sale, 
in  order  that  the  people  of  Nebraska  and  other 
Western  States  might  not  be  burdened  by  the 
tolls  collected  to  pay  interest  on  an  exorbitant 
valuation.  He  favored  the  application  of  the 
principle  of  arbitration  as  far  as  Federal  authority 
extends. 

Mr.  Bryan's  letter  contained  one  plank  which 
is  very  significant  at  this  time,  taken  in  connection 
with  his  declaration  immediately  following  his 
nomination  at  Chicago. 

This  plank  is  as  follows : 

"  I  am  in  favor  of  an  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution making  the  President  ineligible  to  re-elec- 
tion, in  order  that  he  may  not  be  tempted  by 
ambition  to  use  the  enormous  patronage  at  his 
disposal  to  secure  a  continuance  in  office." 

This  is  only  one  instance  indicating  that  the 
principles  advocated  by  William  J.  Bryan  are  not 
those  hewn  out  for  the  occasion,  but  that  they  are 
the  same  principles  to  which  he  has  devoted  his 
life  and  his  earnest  and  consistent  effort. 

The  contest  for  control  of  the  Democratic  State 


208 

Convention  that  year  was  the  most  spirited  in  the 
history  of  the  State.  County  after  county  elected 
silver  delegates  and  instructed  for  Bryan  for 
United  States  Senator.  The  "gold  bugs"  felt 
confident  of  carrying  Douglas  county,  in  which 
Omaha  is  located,  but  the  Bryan  men  invaded  that 
domain  and  made  such  a  vigorous  warfare  that  a 
solid  free  silver  delegation  was  elected  from  that 
county.  The  silver  men  controlled  the  State  Con- 
vention which  met  September  27,  1894,  by  two  to 
one,  and  that  convention  adopted  a  platform  of 
which  the  following  is  an  extract : 

"  We  endorse  the  language  used  by  Hon.  John 
G.  Carlisle,  in  1878,  when  he  denounced  the  'con- 
spiracy* to  destroy  silver  money  as  'the  most 
gigantic  crime  of  this  or  any  other  age,'  and  we 
agree  with  him  that  'the  consummation  of  such 
a  scheme  would  ultimately  entail  more  misery 
upon  the  human  race  than  all  the  wars,  pestilences 
and  famines  that  ever  occurred  in  the  history  of 
the  world.'  (Cheers.)  We  are  not  willing  to  be 
parties  to  such  a  crime,  and  in  order  to  undo  the 
wrong  already  done,  and  to  prevent  the  further 
appreciation  of  money,  we  favor  the  immediate 
restoration  of  the  free  and  unlimited  coinao-e  of 

o 

silver  and  gold  at  the  present  ratio  of  16  to  if 
without  waiting  for  the  aid  or  consent  of  any  other1 
nation  upon  earth. 

"We  regard  the  right  to  issue  money  as  an 
attribute  of  sovereignty  and  believe  that  all  money 


J.  K.  McLEAN,  ESQ., 
Editor  of  the  Enquirer,  Cincinnati,  O. 


HON.  G.  G.  VEST, 

U.  S.  Senator  from  Missouri. 


211 

needed  to  supplement  the  gold  and  silver  coinage 
of  the  Constitution,  and  to  make  the  dollar  so 
stable  in  its  purchasing  power  that  it  will  defraud 
neither  debtor  nor  creditor,  should  be  issued  by 
the  General  Government  as  the  greenbacks  were 
issued ;  that  such  money  should  be  redeemable  in 
coin,  the  Government  to  exercise  the  option  by 
redeeming  them  in  gold  or  silver,  whichever  is 
most  convenient  for  the  Government.  We  believe 
that  all  money  issued  by  the  Government,  whether 
gold,  silver  or  paper,  should  be  made  a  full  legal 
tender  for  all  debts,  public  and  private  (applause), 
and  that  no  citizen  should  be  permitted  to  demone- 
tize by  contract  that  which  the  Government  makes 
money  by  law." 

Mr.  Bryan  was  nominated  by  that  convention 
for  United  States  Senator.  There  was  consider- 
able difference  between  this  convention  and  the 
convention  that  assembled  in  Lincoln  in  1893, 
when  Bryan  was  rebuked.  The  convention  of 
1893  was  dominated  by  the  agents  of  the  Cleve- 
land administration,  but  the  convention  of  1894 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  untramelled  Democracy 
of  Nebraska. 

Mr.  Bryan,  in  acknowledging  his  nomination  to 
be  United  States  Senator,  said  among  other 
things : 

"  I  look  back  over  what  I  have  tried  to  do  with 
nothing  of  regret  except  that  I  have  been  able  to 
do  so  little  of  what  I  have  desired  to  do.  I  have 


212 

realized,  as  each  day  passed,  more  and  more  the 
magnitude  of  the  work,  and  more  and  more  the 
exactitude  of  such  a  position.  I  want  to  say  to 
you  that  I  have  striven  as  best  I  could  to  carry  out 
your  wishes  as  expressed  at  the  convention  and 
to  protect  your  rights,  as  I  understood  them,  and 
to  do  my  duty  as  I  saw  it.  I  believe  from  your 
vote  to-night  that  you  will  give  me  credit  for 
having  at  least  made  an  earnest  attempt. 

"I  could  not  promise  more  fidelity  in  the  future 
than  I  have  tried  to  give  in  the  past.  The  ex- 
perience, which  by  your  suffrages  I  have  been  able 
to  earn,  will  be  used,  if  by  your  suffrages  again  I 
am  made  a  member  of  the  upper  part  of  Con- 
gress." 

Although  the  State  Convention  was  controlled 

o 

two  to  one  by  the  silver  men  and  the  "  gold  bugs  " 
had  been  thoroughly  whipped,  thirty-nine  of  them, 
mostly  Federal  office-holders,  or  beneficiaries 
otherwise  of  the  administration,  bolted  the  con- 
vention and  upon  this  slender  pretext  built  up  an 
organization  which  laid  claim  to  be  the  regular 
Democratic  organization  of  the  State.  The  progeny 
of  this  organization  was  the  delegation  that  went 
to  Chicago  and  was  seated  by  the  votes  of  the 
"  gold  bug  "  members  of  the  national  committee 
and  then  ejected  from  the  convention  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  credentials  committee,  even 
the  gold  men  of  the  credentials  committee  not  be- 


213 

able  to  countenance  such  a  shallow  claim  to 
recognition  in  a  Democratic  assemblage. 

On  the  day  following  Mr.  Bryan's  nomination 
C.  J.  Smythe,  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State 
Convention,  issued  a  challenge  to  the  Hon.  John 
M.  Thurston,  who,  although  not  formally  nomi- 
nated, was  regarded  as  the  Republican  choice  for 
Senator.  It  was  very  evident  from  the  start  that 
Mr.  Thurston  was  not  fond  of  punishment  and  it 
required  considerable  correspondence  before  he 
was  induced,  or  perhaps  forced,  to  meet  Mr. 
Bryan  in  joint  debate.  Messrs.  Bryan  and  Thur- 
ston opened  their  debate  in  Lincoln  to  a  crowd 
of  about  10,000  people.  The  second  meeting  was 
in  Omaha  where  15,000  people  had  gathered.  It 
was  a  mighty  contest  in  which  Mr.  Thurston,  who 
is  a  man  of  great  ability,  acquitted  himself  with 
great  credit.  But  his  friends  were  not  profuse  in 
their  compliments  of  his  really  worthy  effort. 
They  were  content  to  congratulate  their  distin- 
guished fellow-Republican  that  he  had  escaped 
from  the  contest  with  his  life.  Bryan  overmatched 
the  ablest  Republican  orator  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  exactly  as  he  has  overmatched  every 
orator  on  either  side  of  the  Father  of  Waters. 

Mr.  Bryan  was  defeated  for  the  Senate.  Ne- 
braska has  a  law  whereby  preference  of  the  United 
States  Senator  may  be  expressed  by  the  voter  on 
his  ballot.  Of  these  expressions  Mr.  Bryan  re- 
ceived 81,000  votes.  Had  the  result  been  deter- 


214 

mined  by  the  popular  vote,  no  politician  denies 
that  Mr.  Bryan  would  have  been  elected  by  a 
large  majority.  But  the  effect  of  many  votes  were 
lost  for  Mr.  Bryan  by  the  election  of  members  for 
the  Legislature  by  districts  and  thus  the  Republi- 
cans controlled  that  body.  Mr.  Bryan's  defeat 
was  a  great  disappointment  to  his  many  loyal 
friends  in  Nebraska,  but  if  it  was  a  serious  disap- 
pointment to  himself  no  one  was  ever  able  to  dis-. 
cover  it.  He  is  not  a  man  to  "  wear  his  heart  on 
his  sleeve  for  daws  to  peck  at,"  and  he  accepted 
defeat  gracefully.  As  soon  as  the  result  of  the 
election  was  known,  Mr.  Bryan  issued  this  splendid 
letter  to  his  Nebraska  friends. 

"LINCOLN,   NEB.,  Novembers,  1894. 

"  The  Legislature  is  Republican,  and  a  Republi- 
can  Senator  will  now  be  elected  to  represent 
Nebraska.  This  may  be  mortifying  to  the  numer- 
ous chairmen  who  have  introduced  me  to  audi- 
ences as  the  '  next  Senator  from  Nebraska,'  but 
it  illustrates  the  uncertainty  of  prophecies. 

"  I  appreciate  more  than  words  can  express  the 
cordial  good  will  and  the  loyal  support  of  the 
friends  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  political 
honors  which  I  have  received.  I  am  especially 
grateful  to  those  who  bear  without  humiliation  the 
name  of  the  common  people,  for  they  have  been 
my  friends  when  others  have  deserted  me.  I  ap- 
preciate also  the  kind  words  of  many  who  have 


215 

been  restrained  by  party  ties  from  giving  me  their 
votes.  I  have  been  a  hired  man  for  four  years, 
and,  now  that  the  campaign  is  closed,  I  may  be 
pardoned  for  saying  that  as  a  public  servant  I 
have  performed  my  duty  to  the  best  of  my  ability, 
and  am  not  ashamed  of  the  record  made. 

"I  stepped  from  private  life  into  national  poli- 
tics at  the  bidding  of  my  countrymen  ;  at  their 
bidding  I  again  take  my  place  in  the  ranks  and 
resume  without  sorrow  the  work  from  which  they 
called  me.  It  is  the  glory  of  our  institutions  that 
public  officials  exercise  authority  by  the  consent 
of  the  governed  rather  than  by  divine  or  hered- 
itary right.  Paraphrasing  the  language  of  Job, 
each  public  servant  can  say  of  departing  honors : 
'  The  people  gave  and  the  people  have  taken 
away,  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  people.' 

"Speaking  of  my  own  experience  in  politics,  I 
may  again  borrow  an  idea  from  the  great  sufferer 
and  say :  '  What,  shall  we  receive  good  at  the 
hands  of  the  people,  and  shall  we  not  receive 
evil  ? '  I  have  received  good  even  beyond  my 
deserts,  and  I  accepted  defeat  without  complaint. 
I  ask  my  friends  not  to  cherish  resentment  against 
any  who  may  have  contributed  to  the  result.  If 
my  election  would  have  brought  good  to  the  State, 
those  who  have  aided  in  the  defeat  will  suffer  as 
much  as  we  ;  if  my  defeat  has  brought  good  to  the 
State,  we  as  citizens  shall  enjoy  the  advantage  in 
common  with  those  who  secured  it.  If  they  were 

13 


2l6 

conscientiously  striving  to  carry  out  what  they 
believed  to  be  right,  we  cannot  criticise  them,  be- 
cause each  citizen  has  a  right  to  contend  in  politics 
for  the  measures  and  men  desired  by  him,  and  he 
is  in  duty  bound  to  do  so.  If  our  opponents  were 
actuated  by  unworthy  motives,  they  will  suffer 
more  than  their  victim.  Instead  of  finding  fault 
when  it  is  too  late  to  apply  a  remedy,  let  us  rather 
prepare  for  the  work  before  us.  I  have  advocated 
fusion  because  I  believe  it  necessary  to  bring  the 
reform  forces  of  society  together  in  order  to  over- 
come a  united  and  insolent  opposition.  I  still 
advocate  fusion  as  the  only  possible  road  to  the 
great  reforms  needed. 

•  "The  enemies  of  good  government,  the  bene- 
ficiaries of  class  legislation,  act  as  one  man,  with 
unlimited  means  at  their  disposal.  The  common 
people  have  only  their  votes,  and  they  must  cast 
them  togetheror  suffer  defeat.  In  this  State,  fusion, 
while  only  partial,  has  elected  Judge  Holcomb  and 
thus  secured  the  defeat  of  as  corrupt  a  ring  as 
ever  cursed  the  State.  That  is  a  great  victory 
for  this  year.  Where  else  have  the  Democrats 
and  Populists  won  such  a  triumph?  Let  us  re- 
joice that  by  our  combined  efforts  we  have  elected 
an  honest  man  as  Executive  of  this  State. 

"  The  friends  of  these  reforms  have  fought  a 
good  fight ;  they  have  kept  the  faith,  and  they  will 
not  have  finished  their  course  until  the  reforms 
are  accomplished.  Let  us  be  grateful  for  the 


progress  made,  and  '  with  malice  toward  none  and 
charity  for  all '  begin  the  work  of  the  next 
campaign. 

"  Those  who  fight  for  the  right  may  be  defeated, 
but  they  are  never  conquered.  They  may  suffer 
reverses,  but  they  never  suffer  disgrace. 

"Yours  truly, 

"W.  J.  BRYAN." 


CHAPTER  IX. 
BRYAN  AT  ARLINGTON. 

On  May  30,  1894,  at  Arlington,  Washington, 
D.  C.,  Mr.  Bryan  delivered  the  Memorial  Day 
Address,  which  was  listened  to  by  the  President 
and  his  cabinet,  and  many  members  of  Congress. 
This  address  was  admitted  by  Mr.  Bryan's  most 
bitter  opponents,  to  be  one  of  the  best  of 
memorial  day  productions.  On  this  occasion  Mr. 
Bryan  said: 

"With  flowers  in  our  hands  and  sadness  in  our 
hearts,  we  stand  amid  the  tombs  where  the  nation's 
dead  are  sleeping.  It  is  appropriate  that  the 
chief  executive  is  here,  accompanied  by  his  cabi- 
net ;  it  is  appropriate  that  the  soldier's  widow  is 
here,  and  the  soldier's  son  ;  it  is  appropriate  that 
here  are  assembled,  in  numbers  growing  less 
each  year,  the  scarred  survivors,  federal  and  con- 
federate, of  our  last  great  war  ;  it  is  appropriate, 
also,  that  these  exercises  in  honor  of  comrades 
dead,  should  be  conducted  by  comrades  still  sur- 
viving. All  too  soon  the  day  will  come,  when 
these  graves  must  be  decorated  by  hands  unused 
to  the  implements  of  war,  and  when  these  speeches 
must  be  made  by  lips  that  never  answered  to  a 
roll  call. 

218 


219 

"We,  who  are  of  the  aftermath,  cannot  look 
upon  the  flag  with  the  same  emotions  that  thrill 
you,  who  have  followed  it  as  your  pillar  of  cloud 
by  day  and  your  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  nor  can 
we  appreciate  it  as  you  can  who  have  seen  it 
waving  in  front  of  reinforcements  when  succor 
meant  escape  from  death  ;  neither  can  we,  stand- 
ing by  these  blossom-covered  mounds,  feel  as  you 
have  often  felt  when  far  away  from  home,  and  on 
hostile  soil  you  have  laid  your  companions  to 
rest ;  but  from  a  new  generation  we  can  bring  you 
the  welcome  assurance  that  the  commemoration 
of  this  day  will  not  part  with  you.  We  may 
neglect  the  places  where  the  nation's  greatest  vic- 
tories have  been  won,  but  we  cannot  forget  the 
Arlingtons  which  the  nation  has  consecrated  with 
its  tears. 

"To  ourselves,  as  well  as  to  the  dead,  we  owe 
the  duty  which  we  discharge  here,  for  monuments 
and  memorial  days  declare  the  patriotism  of  the 
living  no  less  than  the  virtues  of  those  whom 
they  commemorate. 

"We  would  be  blind  indeed  to  our  own  interests 
and  to  the  welfare  of  posterity,  if  we  were  deaf 
to  the  just  demands  of  the  soldiers  and  his  de- 
pendents. We  are  grateful  for  the  services  ren- 
dered by  our  defenders,  whether  illustrious  or 
nameless,  and  yet  a  nation's  gratitude  in  not  en- 
tirely unselfish,  since  by  our  regard  for  the  dead, 
we  add  to  the  security  of  the  living ;  by  our 


remembrance  of  those  who  have  suffered,  we  give 
inspiration  to  those  upon  whose  valor  we  must 
hereafter  rely,  and  prove  ourselves  worthy  of  the 
sacrifices  which  have  been  made  and  which  may 
be  again  required. 

"  The  essence  of  patriotism  lies  in  a  willingness 
to  sacrifice  for  one's  country,  just  as  true  great- 
ness finds  expression,  not  in  blessings  enjoyed, 
but  in  good  bestowed.  Read  the  words  inscribed 
on  the  monuments  reared  by  loving  hands  to  the 
heroes  of  the  past ;  they  do  not  speak  of  wealth 
inherited,  or  honors  bought,  or  of  hours  in  leisure 
spent,  but  of  service  done.  Twenty  years,  forty 
years,  a  life  or  life's  most  precious  blood  he 
yielded  up  for  the  welfare  of  his  fellows — this  is 
the  simple  story  which  proves  that  it  is  now,  and 
ever  has  been,  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive. 

"  The  officer  was  a  patriot  when  he  gave  his  abil- 
ity to  his  country  and  risked  his  name  and  fame 
upon  the  fortunes  of  war  ;  the  private  soldier  was 
a  patriot  when  he  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  and 
offered  his  body  as  a  bulwark  to  protect  the  flag ; 
the  wife  was  a  patriot  when  she  bade  her  hus- 
band farewell  and  gathered  about  her  the  little 
brood  over  which  she  must  exercise  both  a 
mother's  and  a  father's  care ;  and  if  there  can  be 
degrees  in  patriotism,  the  mother  stood  first 
among  the  patriots  when  she  gave  to  the  nation 
her  sons,  the  divinely-appointed  support  of  her 


221 

declining  years,  and  as  she  brushed  the  tears 
away,  thanked  God  that  he  had  given  her  the 
strength  to  rear  strong  and  courageous  sons  for 
the  battlefield. 

"  To  us  who  were  born  too  late  to  prove  upon 
the  battlefield  our  courage  and  our  loyalty,  it  is 
gratifying  to  know  that  opportunity  will  not 
be  wanting  to  show  our  love  of  country.  In  a 
nation  like  ours,  where  the  Government  is 
founded  upon  the  principle  of  equality  and  de- 
rives its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
Government ;  in  a  land  like  ours,  I  say,  where 
every  citizen  is  a  sovereign  and  where  no  one 
cares  to  wear  a  crown,  every  year  presents  a 
battlefield  and  every  day  brings  forth  occasion  for 
the  display  of  patriotism. 

"And  on  this  memorial  day  we  shall  fall  short  of 
our  duty  if  we  content  ourselves  with  praising 
the  dead  or  complimenting  the  living  and  fail  to 
make  preparation  for  those  responsibilities  which 
present  times  and  present  conditions  impose  upon 
us.  We  can  find  instruction  in  that  incomparable 
address  delivered  by  Abraham  Lincoln  on  the 
battlefield  of  Gettysburg.  It  should  be  read  as 
a  part  of  the  exercises  of  this  day  on  each  return- 
ing year  as  the  Declaration  of  Independence  is 
read  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  Let  me  quote  from 
it,  for  its  truths,  like  all  truths,  are  applicable  in 
all  times  and  climes  : — 

"  'We  have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that 


222 

field  as  a  final  resting  place  for  those  who  here 
gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is 
altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do 
this.  But  in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate, 
we  cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this 
ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who 
struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our 
power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little 
note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here,  but  it 
cannot  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us, 
the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  un- 
finished work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.' 

"  'The  Unfinished  Work.'  Yes,  every  generation 
leaves  to  its  successor  an  unfinished  work.  The 
work  of  society,  the  work  of  human  progress, 
the  work  of  civilization  is  never  completed.  We 
build  upon  the  foundation  which  we  find  already 
laid,  and  those  who  follow  us  take  up  the  work 
where  we  leave  off.  Those  who  fought  and  fell 

o 

thirty  years  ago  did  nobly  advance  the  work  in 
their  day,  for  they  led  the  nation  up  to  higher 
grounds.  Theirs  was  the  greatest  triumph  in  all 
history.  Other  armies  have  been  inspired  by 
love  of  conquest,  or  have  fought  to  repel  a  foreign 
enemy,  but  our  armies  held  within  the  Union 
brethren,  who  now  rejoice  at  their  own  defeat,  and 
glory  in  the  preservation  of  the  nation  which 
they  once  sought  to  dismember.  No  greater 
victory  can  be  won  by  citizens  or  soldiers  than  to 


223 

transform  temporary  foes  into  permanent  friends. 
But  let  me  quote  again : 

'"It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to 
the  great  task  remaining-  before  us,  that  from 
these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion 
to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full 
measure  of  devotion  ;  that  we  here  highly  resolve 
that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain ;  that 
this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of 
freedom,  and  that  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people  and  for  the  people  shall  not  perish 
from  the  earth.' 

"Aye,  let  us  here  dedicate  ourselves  anew  to 
this  unfinished  work,  which  requires  of  each 
generation  constant  sacrifice  and  unceasing  care. 
Pericles,  in  speaking  of  those  who  fell  at  Salamis, 
explained  the  loyalty  of  his  countrymen  when  he 
said: 

"  '  It  was  for  such  a  country,  then,  fhat  these 
men,  nobly  resolving  not  to  have  it  6^ken  from 
them,  fell  fighting,  and  every  one  (V  their  sur- 
vivors may  well  be  willing  to  suffer  f/.i  its  behalf.' 

"  The  strength  of  a  nation  does  not  lie  in  forts, 
nor  in  navies,  nor  yet  in  great  standing  armies, 
but  in  happy  and  contented  citizens,  who  are  ever 
ready  to  protect  for  themselves  and  to  preserve 
for  posterity  the  blessings  which  they  enjoy.  It 
is  for  us  in  this  generation  to  prove  ourselves 
worthy  of  our  ancestors  by  making  our  Govern- 
ment so  good,  so  just  and  so  beneficent,  that 


224 

all  who  live  beneath  its  flag  will  be  willing  if  need 
be  to  die  in  its  defense.  It  is  for  us  of  this  gener- 
ation to  so  perform  the  duties  of  citizenship  that 
a  '  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and 
for  the  people  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth.' 

"The  man  who  gave  expression  to  these  thoughts 
is  a  safe  man  for  any  position  where  genuine 
patriotism  and  real  ability  are  the  essentials." 

On  September  i,  1894,  Mr.  Bryan  became 
editor-in-chief  of  the  Omaha  World-Herald.  His 
strongest  and  best  editorial  efforts  were  devoted 
to  an  education  of  the  people  on  the  money 
question.  The  following  extracts  are  taken  from 
some  of  Mr.  Bryan's  editorials,  for  which  extracts 
this  publication  is  indebted  to  the  New  York 
World: 

"  Editor  Bryan  attacked  the  secret  bond  deal 
arranged  by  Mr.  Cleveland  and  Mr.  Carlisle  with 
J.  Pierpont  Morgan  in  an  editorial  on  March  4, 
1895.  He  said  — 

"  '  The  enormous  bonus  that  was  given  the 
Rothschild  syndicate  to  take  the  last  issue  of 
bonds  may  prove,  after  all,  to  be  one  of  the  best 
investments  the  people  have  made  in  many  a  day. 
The  deal  reveals  the  cloven  foot  of  a  political 
syndicate,  which  undoubtedly  has  for  its  purpose 
the  expenditure  of  foreign  money  to  carry  the 
next  presidential  and  subsequent  presidential 
elections  in  the  interest  of  foreign  and  home  capi- 
talists, and  the  money  the  people  have  paid  to 


225 

get  a  glimpse  of  this  enemy  of  our  institutions 
will  have  been  well  and  profitably  invested  if  it 
causes  them  to  rise  in  their  might  and  send  the 
American  end  of  the  conspiracy  to  its  political 
grave. 

"  '  There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  Roths 
child  syndicate  will  make  its  bond  holdings  an  ex- 
cuse to  employ  agents  to  influence  nominating 
conventions  that  neither  party  shall  designate  a 
man  for  the  Presidency  who  cannot  be  brought 
under  the  syndicate's  influence.  It  is  apparent 
that  not  a  stone  wiil  be  left  unturned  by  Wall 
street  and  London  to  fasten  upon  the  country  at 
the  next  election  an  administration  that  is  com- 
mitted in  advance  to  the  gold  standard.  Every 
move  of  the  monometallists  in  this  country  and 
Europe  indicates  as  much,  and  when  once  mono- 
metallism is  firmly  fastened  about  the  necks  of  the 
people,  Eastern  and  foreign  capital  will  be  the 
people's  taskmaster.  Farmers,  mechanics,  labor- 
ers— the  common  people —  think  they  already 
have  greater  burdens  than  they  can  bear, 
but  if  these  bond  syndicates  get  control  of  the 
Government  the  people  will  have  to  make  bricks 
without  straw.  As  an  eye-opener,  therefore,  the 
bonus  paid  the  Rothschild  combine  is  not  too 
great  if  the  people  will  act,  now  that  their  eyes 
are  open.' ' 

On  April  28,  1894,  Mr.  Bryan  editorially  advo- 
cated the  "initiative  and  referendum."  Here  are 
Mr.  Bryan's  words :— 


226 

"The  principle  of  the  initiative  and  referendum 
is  Democratic.  It  will  not  be  opposed  by  any 
Democrat  who  indorses  the  declaration  of  Jeffer- 
son that  the  people  are  capable  of  self-govern- 
ment, nor  will  it  be  opposed  by  any  Republican 
who  holds  to  Lincoln's  idea  that  this  should  be 
a  Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and 
for  the  people.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  good 
citizen  to  endeavor  to  make  the  machinery  of 
government  as  perfect  as  possible. 

"  The  anarchists  in  Chicago  did  not  hold  memo- 
rial services  over  the  graves  of  those  of  their 
comrades  who  were  executed  for  participating  in 
the  Haymarket  riots.  For  seven  years  it  has 
been  their  custom  to  hold  exercises  of  this  char- 
acter in  Waldheim  Cemetery,  where  the  remains 
of  their  misguided  friends  are  buried,  but  the  di- 
rectors of  the  cemetery  this  year  refused  to  per- 
mit it.  It  seems  harsh  to  prohibit  a  tribute  by  the 
living  to  its  beloved  dead,  but  in  this  case  the 
action  of  the  directors  was  justifiable.  These 
annual  gatherings  have  not  been  those  of  genuine 
mourning,  but  the  participants  have  used  the 
place  and  occasion  to  teach  their  doctrines,  and  to 
stir  up  an  animosity  against  the  law  and  its 
officers. 

"Anarchy  has  no  place  in  this  country,  either 
in  the  busy  walks  of  life  or  in  the  quiet  city  of  the 
dead.  Anarchy  is  an  enemy  to  peace,  to  society 
and  to  happiness.  It  is  not  to  be  tolerated  in  any 


227 

country.  Much  less  has  it  any  cause  for  existence 
or  toleration  in  this  country,  and  its  friends  and 
devotees  cannot  use  the  sacredness  of  the  grave 
as  a  means  for  spreading  their  unwholesome  doc- 
trines and  to  stir  up  new  strife  against  the  law 
that  accords  to  even  the  teachers  of  arson  and  assas- 
sination, a  fair  and  impartial  trial  before  a  jury  of 
their  peers." 

When  the  Senate  Investigating  Committee  was 
probing  the  Sugar  Trust,  President  Havemeyer 
acknowledged  under  oath  that  the  principal  object 
of  the  trust  was  to  control  the  price  on  output  of 
sugar.  Mr.  Bryan  privately  sent  a  copy  of  this 
evidence  to  Mr.  Olney,  then  attorney-general,  but 
he  got  no  reply.  On  September  7th,  Mr.  Bryan 
published  an  editorial,  rehearsing  Mr.  Havemeyer's 
testimony  and  quoting  the  statute  forbidding 
trusts.  This  is  Mr.  Bryan's  summary  of  the 
matter : 

"  A  clear  case  would  seem  to  be  made  out 
against  the  trust  by  the  testimony  of  its  President, 
which,  be  it  said,  is  corroborated  by  the  record  of 
testimony  in  a  suit  brought  in  the  United  States 
Court  by  the  North  River  Refining  Company 
against  the  trust.  Will  Attorney-General  Olney 
bring  the  officers  of  the  trust  to  justice  ?  " 

Editor  Bryan  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  mar- 
riage of  rich  American  women  to  titled  foreigners, 
and  on  November  3,  1895,  sa^  tnat  tne  rearing 
o^  rich  American  girls  in  such  a  manner  as  to 


228 

make  them  desire  titled  husbands  was  "a  reflec- 
tion on  the  parents,  who  cultivated  a  love  for  aris- 
tocracy rather  than  a  pride  in  American  democ- 
racy." Mr.  Bryan  continued : 

"  Our  forefathers  decided  that  titles  were 
dangerous  to  liberty,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  patriotism  of  Revolutionary  days  has 
given  place  to  a  disgraceful  scramble,  among  the 
daughters  of  some  of  our  multi-millionaires,  for 
lords  and  dukes  and  counts. 

"  When  an  Englishman  or  Frenchman  or  other 
foreigner,  with  nothing  to  commend  him  but  a 
title,  inherited  from  a  remote  ancestor  (and  possi- 
bly only  retained  because  it  could  not  be  pawned), 
reaches  majority,  he  embarks  for  the  United 
States  and  enters  into  negotiations  for  some  mar- 
riageable heiress  or  heiress-apparent.  Instead  of 
teaching  their  daughters  to  regard  with  favor  the 
suits  of  worthy  sons  of  this  country,  too  many 
ambitious  parents  lead  their  daughters  into  the 
market-place,  and  seek  to  barter  a  fortune  for  a 
crown. 

"  Love  may  leap  across  the  ocean  and  join  in 
holy  wedlock  '  two  hearts  that  beat  as  one,'  but 
social  ambition  and  hereditary  avarice  can  never 
weld  two  hearts  into  home-building  material. 

"When  Cupid  becomes  a  boodler,  and  court- 
ship is  carried  on  by  brokers,  marriage  is  a 
mockery. 

"  It  is  significant  that  poor  American  girls,  how- 


229 

ever  accomplished,  have  no  charms  for  impecu- 
nious noblemen.  It  is  also  a  source  of  congratu- 
lation that  American  sons  do  not  seek  foreign 
alliances.  It  is  a  shame  that  some  American 
daughters  do." 

Now  that  Mr,  Bryan  expects  to  live  in  the 
White  House  himself  it  is  interesting  to  recall 
what  he  wrote  on  March  3 1  st,  less  than  four  months 
ago,  on  the  subject  of  former  presidents  and  a 
proposition  to  pension  them.  These  are  his 
words : 

"  Ex-presidents  ought  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves as  ordinary  citizens  do.  If  it  should  ever 
happen  that  one  of  our  ex-presidents  should  be  in 
need  of  public  or  private  aid,  said  aid  would  be 
forthcoming.  In  recent  years  our  presidents  have 
retired  in  comfortable  circumstances.  Gen.  Har- 
rison is  earning  fat  fees  at  the  bar,  and  his  dignity 
does  not  suffer  one  bit  because  he  is  eating  his 
bread  in  the  perspiration  of  his  gray  matter. 
When  Mr.  Cleveland  retires  he  will  not  be  in  im- 
mediate want.  The  several  millions  which  he  is 
credited  with  accumulating  will  help  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door  for  a  while,  and  whenever  his 
reserve  fund  gets  below  one  or  two  millions  the 
people  will  help  him  out  cheerfully. 

"This  Government  will  attain  more  to  the  pur- 
pose of  its  founders  when  the  notion  that  the 
/  i  ople  owe  their  officials  anything  is  entirely 
eradicated.  To  be  sure,  we  owe  the  faithful 


230 

official  our  appreciation  and  respect.  We  have 
paid  him  for  his  time,  and  he  loses  nothing  in 
dignity  if  he  steps  from  his  official  place  to  the  ranks 
of  the  laborers.  If  he  is  broken  down  in  health 
or  should  otherwise  be  unfortunate,  the  American 
people  would  not  permit  an  ex-president  to 
suffer." 

After  the  nomination  of  McKinley  and  Hobart, 
at  St.  Louis,  Mr.  Bryan  editorially  attacked  Mr. 
Hobart  and  reprinted  The  World's  criticism.  Of 
Mr.  McKinley  he  said  : — 

"  In  selecting  William  McKinley  as  its  standard- 
bearer,  the  Republican  party  chose  the  strongest 
man  within  its  ranks.  He  is  a  man  of  good  char- 
acter and  personally  no  objection  can  be  urged 
against  him. 

"  It  is  amazing  that  a  man  for  whom  the  people 
of  this  country  entertain  such  a  high  regard  as 
they  do  for  Mr.  McKinley  would  consent  to  be- 
come the  standard-bearer  of  a  cause  that  has 
brought  upon  us  all  of  our  woe,  and  the  continu- 
ation of  which  will  make  prosperity  impossible. 
But  the  people  will  vote  for  the  measures,  not 
men,  this  year,  and  Mr.  McKinley,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  an  un-American  measure,  will  go 
down  to  defeat." 

On  January  14,  1895,  tne  World-Herald  con- 
tained an  editorial  from  Mr.  Bryan's  pen  on  the 
subject  of  "vast  wealth."  He  said  : — 

"It  is  possible  for  one  citizen  to  injure  another 


231 

with  a  club  or  with  a  weapon,  but  that  is  not  the 
only  way.  The  gamblers  on  the  Board  of  Trade 
may  injure  the  farmer  by  decreasing  the  price  of 
his  grain,  or  they  may  injure  the  person  who  buys 
farm  products  by  increasing  the  price.  Whether 
their  manipulations  of  the  markets  hurt  the  one 
class  or  the  other  they  do  an  injury.  Trusts  crush 
out  small  competitors,  and,  then  having  a  monop- 
oly, extort  higher  prices  from  purchasers.  There 
are  many  indirect  methods  by  which  one  person 
can  injure  another,  methods  by  which  one  per- 
son virtually  takes  the  property  of  another  person 
without  his  consent. 

"  If  the  Government  properly  restrains  each 
citizen  intent  on  wrong-doing  and  fully  protects 
every  citizen  in  the  'enjoyment  of  life,  liberty  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness,'  many  great  fortunes 
will  be  prevented. 

"People  may  well  ask  themselves  whether  our 
form  of  government  will  stand  an  indefinite  ag- 
gravation of  the  tendency  which  has  been  observed 
for  the  last  generation.  Great  inequality  in  wealth 
fosters  social  and  political  inequality  and  arouses 
class  prejudices  when  great  accumulations  are 
found  to  arise  from  unjust  legislation. 

"The  main  contention  of  some  of  our  finan- 
ciers is,  that  we  should  so  arrange  our  monetary 
system  as  to  continually  increase  the  investment 
of  foreign  capital  among  us.  The  World-Herald 

believes  that  it  is  better  for  the  Government  to 

U 


232 

furnish  a  sufficient  supply  of  money  to  do  the 
business  of  the  country,  than  to  depend  upon 
borrowing  abroad  and  paying  interest  upon  it. 

"There  is  an  economy  in  exchanging  that 
which  we  can  produce  at  a  low  cost,  for  something 
which  we  can  only  produce  here  at  a  high  cost. 
That  is  the  principle  which  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  all  commerce  between  individuals  and  between 
nations.  But  there  can  be  no  justification  for  a 
financial  system  in  this  country,  built  upon  the 
theory,  that  the  more  money  we  borrow  abroad, 
the  better  we  are  off,  and  which  permits  the  sale 
of  a  few  American  securities  in  London  to  create 
a  panic  in  this  country." 

Mr.  Bryan  closed  his  editorial  by  declaring 
that  the  only  remedy  for  our  present  financial  ills, 
was  independent  and  free  coinage  of  silver,  and 
the  issue,  by  the  Federal  Government,  of  what- 
ever paper  money  is  needed  to  preserve  stability 
in  the  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar. 

In  July,  1895,  tne  Salvation  Army  was  in  trouble 
and  Mr.  Bryan  wrote  an  editorial  defending  it. 
He  said  : 

"The  Salvation  Army  is  not  a  nuisance.  It  is 
'noisy,'  but  Satan  is  a  rather  noisy  fellow  himself, 
and  no  one  can  object  if  these  people  choose  to 
'  fight  the  devil  with  fire.'  *  *  *  If  it  is  '  a 
noisy  crowd,'  the  noise  will  never  induce  any  man 
or  woman  to  do  wrong,  and  there  are  thousands 
of  instances  where  this  '  noise '  has  induced  many 


233 

persons  to  quit  their  meanness.  Such  an  organi- 
zation is  entitled  not  only  to  respect,  but  to  the 
earnest  co-operation  of  every  good  citizen." 

On  February  16,  1895,  Mr.  Bryan  wrote  this: — 

"The  cry  that  the  Democratic  party  is  dead  is 
the  cry  of  the  enemy,  of  the  coward  and  of  the 
traitor.  The  Democratic  party  is  not  dead,  nor 
is  it  asleep.  When  the  Democratic  party  dies 
Democratic  principles  will  die,  and  in  the  same 
grave  will  be  buried  the  hope  of  humanity,  the 
incentive  to  work  for  a  broader  and  better  plan 
of  existence  and  the  power  to  go  from  strength 
to  strength  in  advancing  and  maintaining  liberty 
and  freedom.  The  principles  of  Jefferson,  of  Jack- 
son and  of  Lincoln — the  same — all  are  the  heart 
and  the  soul  of  every  government  by  and  for  the 
people  that  now  is  or  ever  will  be  ;  and,  more- 
over, they  are  the  life-blood  which  courses 
through  the  arteries  of  liberty  and  makes  the  all- 
powerful  agency  in  the  mighty  work  of  lifting 
mankind  Godward. 

"  Man  may  be  born  and  man  may  go  hence, 
and  nations  may  be  established  and  nations  may 
be  overthrown,  but  the  principles  of  Democracy 
are  of  God  and  they  must  return  to  him  bearing 
in  their  arms  a  perfect  humanity. 

"The  onward  way  of  these  principles  has  al- 
ways been  and  always  will  be  more  or  less  im- 
peded by  the  Judases  of  the  world,  but  the  right 
always  prevails — the  people  triumph  ultimately. 


234 

It  is  true  that  the  Democratic  party — the  custo- 
dian and  proclaimer  of  these  principles  of  human 
progress — is  for  the  moment  wrenched  and  torn 
by  fierce  onslaughts  from  daggers  in  the  hands  of 
members  of  its  own  household,  who,  like  Bene- 
dict Arnold,  were  caught  in  the  act  of  selling 
their  fellows  for  British  gold,  but  they  have  made 
their  own  graves  deep  and  wide  in  the  morasses 
of  their  own  treachery,  and  there  is  no  inclination 
anywhere  to  hinder  the  operations  of  the  law  of 
retribution." 

The  last  editorial  written  by  Mr.  Bryan  ap- 
peared on  July  ist,  nine  days  before  he  was  nomi- 
nated. It  was  an  answer  to  the  charge  made  by 
the  Atchison  Globe  that  he  had  advised  the  peo- 
ple to  always  oppose  the  bankers.  The  follow- 
ing extract  contains  the  germ  of  Mr.  Bryan's 
argument : — 

"  The  banker  is  a  man,  nothing  more,  nothing 
less,  and  his  opinions  are  entitled  to  all  due  con- 
sideration. But  no  man  should  permit  another 
man  to  do  his  thinking  for  him.  There  are  many 
bankers  who  are  sincere  and  consistent  bimetal- 
lists.  There  are  others  who  are  sincere  gold 
bugs.  There  are  some  who  advocate  the  single 
gold  standard  when  they  do  not  believe  its  pres- 
ervation will  be  beneficial  to  the  country,  but  for 
reasons  best  known  to  themselves  they  adhere  to 
the  advocacy  of  that  standard. 

"The  opinions  of  all  bankers  are  entitled  to 


SENATOR  STEPHEN  M.  WHITE, 

Permanent  Chairman  Democratic  National  Convention. 


HON.  J.  P.  ALTGELD, 
Ex-Governor  of  Illinois. 


237 

unusual  consideration,  because  of  their  experience 
in  financial  matters,  but  the  banker  must  be  able 
to  back  up  his  opinion  with  logic. 

"  Because  the  banker  has  had  wide  experience 
in  money  matters,  is  no  reason  that  another  man 
should  believe  the  banker's  mere  statement  that 
black  is  white,  particularly  when  the  other  man 
knows  that  black  is  not  white." 


CHAPTER  X. 
BRYAN  AS  A  LAWYER. 

William  J.  Bryan,  the  lawyer,  has  largely  been 
obscured  by  the  greater  reputation  which  has  been 
attained  by  the  orator  and  as  a  student  of  govern- 
mental questions.  His  career  as  a  lawyer  is  prac- 
tically confined  to  the  period  prior  to  his  election 
to  Congress  the  first  time.  As  this  event  occurred 
when  he  was  just  passed  thirty  years  old,  his 
achievements,  and  the  demonstration  of  the  pos- 
session of  those  qualities  which  go  to  make  great 
lawyers,  have  been  as  conspicuous  as  his  oppor- 
tunities permitted. 

Those  lawyers  who  have  had  the  best  oppor- 
tunity to  judge  of  his  abilities  in  this  direction  say, 
that  had  his  destiny  not  directed  him  into  another 
channel,  he  would  have  taken  his  place  as  high  in 
the  ranks  of  the  legal  profession,  as  he  has 
attained  in  the  political  arena. 

The  influence,  which  his  contact  with  Lyman 
Trumbull  had  upon  the  future  professional  career 
of  Mi*.  Bryan,  had  been  detected  by  some  who 
were  in  a  position  to  judge.  With  men  posses- 
sing characters  as  strong  as  that  of  W.  J.  Bryan,  it 
is  doubtful  if  the  influence  of  any  association  ever 
directs  them  into  one  path  or  another.  Influences 

238 


239 

of  other  strong  minds,  when  brought  into  contact 
with  them  during  the  receptive  period  of  earlier 
years,  may  remain  with  them  in  after  years,  but 
their  province  is  more  that  of  lights  which  show 
the  surroundings,  than  that  of  pilots  who  select 
the  routes. 

While  pursuing  his  legal  studies  in  Union  Col- 
lege, W.  J.  Bryan  occupied  himself  outside  of 
recitation  hours  in  the  office  of  Lyman  Trumbull, 
where  such  time  as  was  not  taken  up  with  the 
minor  duties  imposed  upon  him  was  given  to 
study. 

After  graduating  from  the  law  school  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three,  he  commenced  to  practice  in 
Jacksonville,  111.,  beginning  at  the  bottom  as  young 
lawyers  without  influential  connections  must  do. 
During  the  four  years  he  lived  in  Jacksonville,  he 
increased  his  professional  income  each  year. 
After  his  removal  to  Lincoln,  he  was  again  a 
young  lawyer,  and  one  who  had  not  made  a  repu- 
tation large  enough  to  precede  him  to  the  new 
home  in  the  West.  Again,  he  had  to  commence 
over  the  work  of  building  up  a  practice.  Sur- 
rounded as  he  was  by  strangers,  the  first  step  was 
necessarily  to  make  acquaintances  and  friends,  out 
of  whose  ranks  clients  were  afterwards  to  come. 
Again  he  saw  his  income  from  his  law  practice 
gradually  increasing,  until  1890,  when  he  was 
elected  to  Congress.  During  his  service  of  two 
terms  in  Congress,  he  did  not  practice,  giving  his 


240 

whole  time  and  attention  to  the  questions  which 
came  up  and  to  the  business  of  the  office  to  which 
he  had  been  chosen.  After  his  return  from  Con- 
gress at  the  close  of  his  second  term,  it  was  his 
intention  to  at  once  take  up  the  practice,  but  he 
found  that  this  plan  could  not  be  carried  out,  on 
account  of  the  demands  made  upon  his  time  for 
speeches  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  in  be- 
half of  the  silver  movement.  In  spite  of  the  con- 
stant work  and  travel  in  the  interests  of  the  silver 
cause,  several  important  cases  involving  questions 
of  great  interest  were  tried  by  him  in  the  State 
Courts;  the  principal  one  of  these  was  the  Lincoln 
bond  case,  referred  to.  in  another  place. 

During  the  time  since  his  retirement  from 
Congress,  and  while  at  work  in  the  interest  of  the 
silver  cause,  Mr.  Bryan  has  sometimes  lectured 
before  Chautauquas  and  other  societies  for  stated 
sums,  and  at  others  a  liberal  allowance  was  made 
by  communities  in  which  he  spoke  to  meetings. 
Sometimes  there  was  no  compensation  received 
but  his  income  from  this  source,  which,  together  with 
his  salary  as  editor  of  the  Omaha  World-Herald, 
was  sufficient  to  support  himself  and  family. 

His  financial  and  professional  success,  when  it 
is  considered  that  he  made  two  beginnings  in 
seven  years,  each  time  as  a  young  man  among 
strangers,  has  been  enough  to  demonstrate  that 
he  has  the  qualities  which  make  successful 
lawyers. 


241 

The  only  case  which  he  carried  to  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  was  won  by  him. 

One  of  the  cases  of  more  than  local  impor- 
tance which  Mr.  Bryan  carried  to  a  successful  issue 
in  the  State  courts  was  the  Lincoln  bond  case.  In 
this,  the  city  council  sought  to  authorize  the  issue 
of  a  series  of  refunding  bonds,  with  a  proviso  in- 
serted that  the  bonds  should  be  payable  in  gold. 
The  obnoxious  clause  had  been  inserted,  or  it  was 
sought  to  be  inserted,  by  the  city  council  after  the 
voters  of  the  city  had  authorized  a  bond  issue. 
The  bond  syndicate  which  had  made  a  bid  for  the 
bonds  demanded  that  the  gold-payment  clause  be 
inserted.  Mr.  Bryan,  as  a  citizen  of  Lincoln,  in 
connection  with  others,  joined  in  a  petition  to  the 
State  courts  for  an  injunction  restraining  the  city 
officials  from  issuing  a  gold  bond  as  proposed. 
Mr.  Bryan  was  the  attorney  for  the  petitioners  and 
the  court  granted  the  injunction  prayed  for, 
making  it  perpetual.  This  case  is  regarded  as 
of  largely  greater  importance  than  the  mere 
amount  of  half  a  million  involved  in  the  Lincoln 
city  bonds  would  indicate.  There  were  involved 
in  it  important  and  unsettled  principles  of  consti- 
tutional law  which  were  far  reaching  in  their 

o 

effects.  Its  determination  against  the  city  officials 
was  one  of  the  victories  of  the  silver  forces  in  the 
battle  against  the  gold.  This  case  was  one  in 
which  there  was  no  opportunity  for  the  orator  to 
win  by  swaying  the  jury,  but,  being  an  equity  case, 


242 

it  was  only  on  the  application  of  cold  logic,  that 
would  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  the  chancellor, 
that  the  attorney  could  depend  for  success. 

Two  other  cases  of  lesser  importance,  but  in- 
volving governmental  principles,  tried  by  Mr. 
Bryan  as  attorney,  consisted  of  one  wherein  the 
right  of  officers  to  refuse  to  serve  papers  in  criminal 
cases  without  their  fees  being  paid  in  advance,  was 
questioned  and  settled  in  the  negative.  Another 
was  where  the  right  of  a  township  to  vote  bonds 
to  beet  sugar  factories  was  combated  and  decided 
against  any  such  issue.  It  is  of  interest  to  note 
that  in  these  cases  Bryan,  the  lawyer,  appeared 
as  the  advocate  of  the  rights  of  the  many — of  the 
people — as  against  the  assumption  of  special 
rights,  by  the  preferred  class. 

The  same  impulses  which  have  made  him  among 
political  leaders  conspicuous  for  his  advocacy  of 
the  cause  of  the  masses  of  the  people  dominated 
him  as  a  lawyer.  His  friends,  who  were  solicitous 
for  his  pecuniary  success,  noted  this,  and  some  of 
them  sought  to  give  well-meant  advice  against 
what  they  considered  faulty  business  policy. 
Bryan,  in  his  practice,  congratulated  himself 
whenever  he  was  able  to  bring  about  a  settlement 
without  going  into  court  and  entailing  the  extra 
expense  and  sometimes  bitter  feelings  which 
litigation  brings  about  between  neighbors  and 
friends.  On  one  occasion,  when  an  old  friend 
thought  to  advise  him  that  this  was  not  the  best 


243 

policy,  because  his  fees  were  smaller  than  if  a 
fight  in  court  had  been  carried  on,  he  silenced 
the  objector  by  saying  that  it  would  pay  best  in 
the  long  run,  because  these  men  would  be  happier 
and  better  citizens  by  reason  of  being  friends 
instead  of  enemies,  and  then  "  they  will  be  my 
friends,  too." 

As  a  lawyer,  his  practice  was  general,  covering 
nearly  the  whole  range.  The  line  was  drawn  at 
one  place.  He  had  no  corporation  practice. 
The  natural  bent  of  his  mind,  and  perhaps  his 
inclinations,  are  such  as  are  supposed  to  distin- 
guish the  jury  practitioner  from  the  equity 
lawyer.  There  are  cases  on  the  records  in  the 
State  courts  of  Nebraska  which  show,  that,  al- 
though it  was  the  opinion  of  W.  J.  Bryan's  friends 
that  he  could  make  useful  his  powers  of  persuasive 
eloquence  to  -more  readily  establish  his  stand- 
ing at  the  bar,  he  did  not  lack  those  other 
qualities  which  make  a  successful  equity  lawyer, 
— the  best  paid  and  generally  conceded  to  be  the 
highest  type  of  the  lawyer.  In  the  Lincoln  bond 
case,  Mr.  Bryan  exhibited  the  grasp  of  the  broad 
principles,  and  the  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  previous  cases  having  bearing  on  the 
subject  which  only  comes  to  the  delver  in  musty 
books.  This  case  was  won  besides  upon  a  pre- 
sentation of  the  theories  of  the  constitutional 
principle  contended  for  with  such  clearness  that 
the  judges  were  convinced  by  the  mastery  of  the 


244 

case  displayed  by  the  lawyer.  This  case  was 
even  to  some  of  Mr.  Bryan's  friends  the  means 
of  revealing  qualities  of  mind  which  they  had  not 
given  him  credit  for  possessing.  It  was  shown 
that  as  a  lawyer,  he  did  not  have  to  depend  alone 
upon  the  powers  of  persuasion  and  appeals  to 
the  emotions  which  mark  the  jury  lawyer.  While 
possessing  in  an  imminent  degree  the  faculty  of 
doing  this,  he  showed  that  the  ordinarily-con- 
sidered incongruous  branch  of  the  profession,  the 
equity  practice,  presented  no  closed  doors  against 
his  entrance,  but  the  gates  flew  open  at  his  ap- 
proach as  if  to  welcome  one  who  by  right  can 
claim  a  place  of  honor  within.  As  a  jury  lawyer, 
older  citizens  of  Southern  Nebraska  have  many 
vivid  recollections  of  his  triumphs  by  means  of 
the  same  qualities  of  persuasive  eloquence  which 
have  gained  him  fame  in  Congress,  on  the  lecture 
platform  and  before  excited  political  gatherings. 
An  old  friend  and  intimate  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Bryan's  ascribed  the  success  which  met  his  prac- 
tice before  juries  to  the  fact  that  the  lawyer  was 
in  close  touch  with  the  great  body  of  the  people  ; 
knew  what  they  thought  about  and  how  they  are 
affected  by  a  given  condition  or  occurrence.  As 
the  juries  are  drawn  from  this  mass  of  the  common 
people,  he  always  found  himself  before  men  whose 
every-day  thoughts  and  feelings  were  as  an  open 
book  to  him.  No  time  had  to  be  lost  in  lawyer 
and  jurors  getting  into  sympathy  with  each  other. 
A  review  of  Mr.  Bryan's  legal  life  and  analysis 


HON.  CLAUDE  MATTHEWS, 
Governor  of  Indiana. 


HON.  ALEX.  M.  DOCKEEY, 
Congressman  from  Missouri. 


245 

of  his  legal  method  and  bent  of  mind  has  shown 
a  curious  likeness  to  that  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
While  both  coming  from  the  people,  depended 
largely  upon  their  keeping  in  touch  with  the 
masses  by  constant  association  with  those  around 
them,  while  with  both,  this  desire  for  social  inter- 
course came  from  a  cordial  and  real  friendship  for 
those  around  them,  it  was  the  source  of  greatest 
strength  in  professional  battles.  It  can  be  safely 
said  that  Mr.  Bryan  has  demonstrated  that  he  is 
as  strong  a  lawyer  as  ever  was  selected  by  the 
people  as  president,  with  the  exception  of  Lin- 
coln and  Benjamin  H.  Harrison.  The  achieve- 
ments of  Lincoln  and  Bryan  as  lawyers,  up  to 
the  time  Lincoln  arrived  at  Mr.  Bryan's  age,  are 
so  nearly  on  a  par  that  the  two  might  fittingly  be 
said  to  run  side  by  side.  Great  legal  reputations 
have  not  been  regarded  as  prime  essentials  in 
the  selections  of  presidents,  and  the  history  of 
the  country  shows  that  but  one  really  strong 
lawyer — who  had  a  strong  record  before  his  elec- 
tion— has  ever  been  honored  with  the  presidency. 
Men  who  might  have  been  strong  lawyers  if  their 
time  and  attention  had  not  been  taken  up  with 
governmental  affairs  and  other  questions,  the 
mastery  of  which  required  as  fine  a  quality  of 
mind,  have  been  presidents.  Benjamin  Harrison 
is  the  sole  representative  of  the  lawyer  who  was 
recognized  by  the  profession,  and  had  made  a 
reputation  as  a  great  lawyer  before  election  to 
the  office  of  chief  magistrate  of  th'e  union. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
BRYAN  AS  AN  ORATOR. 

Bryan  is  an  orator  of  the  people.  Earnest- 
ness, simplicity  and  beauty  are  the  chief  character- 
istics of  his  style.  The  subject  upon  which  he 
would  speak  is  thoroughly  studied  in  all  its  bear- 
ings. The  best  that  has  been  written  or  said 
upon  it  is  examined  and  re-examined,  if  neces- 
sary, until  it  is  mastered.  Nor  is  the  investiga- 
tion confined  to  the  side  of  the  question  to  which 
he  is  predisposed ;  every  conceivable  objection  to 
the  position  he  favors  is  looked  for  and 
thoroughly  studied  in  the  light  of  the  strongest 
thought  of  its  ablest  advocates.  Having  digested 
with  the  utmost  minuteness  all  that  can  be  said 
for  or  against  his  position,  he  then  selects  from 
the  mass  the  most  forceful  thoughts  on  both  sides 
of  the  question.  This  done,  he  then  looks  for 
language  suitable  to  express  them.  Long,  in- 
volved sentences  will  not  do ;  unusual  words  must 
not  be  employed ;  the  thought  which  burns  within 
the  mind  and  would  impress  itself  upon  the  hearts 
of  others  must  not  have  any  of  its  strength  im- 
paired or  its  beauty  dimmed  by  the  language  se- 
lected to  convey  it.  The  simplest  words  are 
chosen  and  they  are  formed  into  short,  pithy 
(246) 


247 

sentences.  No  word  is  used  solely  for  its  sound; 
the  mere  jingle  of  words  has  no  place  in  the 
mental  workshop  of  our  orator.  To  him  words 
are  the  servants  of  thought,  and  take  their  real 
beauty  from  the  thought  that  blazes  through 
them.  From  this  let  it  not  be  concluded  that  he 
undervalues  the  importance  of  the  best  literary 
style.  His  style  is  as  pure  and  captivating  as 
that  of  Irving,  or  Addison,  and  not  dissimilar  to 
either.  But  style,  with  him,  as  with  those  two 
great  masters,  is  valued  not  for  itself,  but  because 
it  conveys  in  the  most  pleasing  manner  the 
thoughts  which  he  would  have  others  know. 

\j 

Here  are  some  of  his  sentences  culled  from  dif- 
ferent speeches: 

They  call  that  man  a  statesman  whose  ear  is  tuned  to  catch 
the  slightest  pulsations  of  a  pocketbook,  and  to  denounce  as 
a  demagogue  anyone  who  dares  to  listen  to  the  heart-beat  of 
humanity. 

The  poor  man  who  takes  property  by  force  is  called  a  thief, 
but  the  creditor  who  can  by  legislation  make  a  debtor  pay  a 
dollar  twice  as  large  as  he  borrowed  is  lauded  as  the  friend  of 
a  sound  currency.  The  man  who  wants  the  people  to  destroy 
the  government  is  an  anarchist,  but  the  man  who  wants  the 
government  to  destroy  the  people  is  a  patriot,  *  *  * 

Some  who  are  ready  to  use  the  power  of  the  government  to 
limit  the  supply  of  money,  in  order  to  prevent  injustice  to  the 
creditor,  are  slow  to  admit  the  right  of  the  government  to  in- 
crease the  currency  when  necessary  to  prevent  injustice  to  the 
debtor.  I  denounce  the  cruel  interpretation  of  governmental 
power  which  would  grant  the  authority  to  starve,  but  would 
withhold  the  authority  to  feed  our  people — which  would  per- 


248 

mit  a  contraction  of  our  currency,  even  to  the  destruction  of 
all  prosperity,  but  would  prohibit  the  expansion  of  our  cur- 
rency to  keep  pace  with  the  growing  needs  of  a  growing 
nation !  *  *  *  *  * 

The  gentlemen  who  are  so  fearful  of  socialism  when  the 
poor  are  exempted  from  an  income  tax,  view  with  indifference 
those  methods  of  taxation  which  give  the  rich  a  substantial 
exemption.  They  weep  more  because  $15,000,000  is  to  be 
collected  from  the  incomes  of  the  rich  than  they  do  at  the 
collection  of  $300, 000,000  upon  the  goods  which  the  poor 
consume.  And  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  equalize  these 
burdens,  not  fully,  but  partially  only,  the  people  of  the  south 
and  west  are  called  anarchists.  I  deny  the  assertion,  sir.  It 
is  among  the  people  of  the  south  and  west,  on  the  prairies  and 
in  the  mountains,  that  you  find  the  staunchest  supporters  of 
government  and  the  best  friends  of  law  and  order.  You  may 
not  find  among  these  people  the  great  fortunes  which  are  ac- 
cumulated in  cities,  nor  will  you  find  the  dark  shadows  which 
these  fortunes  throw  over  the  community,  but  you  will  find 
those  willing  to  protect  the  rights  of  property,  even  while  they 
demand  the  property  shall  bear  its  share  of  taxation.  You 
may  not  find  among  them  as  much  of  wealth,  but  you  will 
find  men  who  are  not  only  willing  to  pay  their  taxes  to  sup- 
port the  government,  but  are  willing  whenever  necessary  to 
offer  up  their  lives  in  its  defense.  These  people,  sir,  whom 
you  call  anarchists  because  they  ask  that  the  burdens  of  gov- 
ernment shall  be  equally  borne,  these  people  have  ever  borne 
the  cross  on  Calvary  and  saved  their  country  with  their 
blood.  ***** 

I  may  be  in  error,  but  in  my  humble  judgment  he  who 
would  rob  man  of  his  necessary  food  or  pollute  the  springs  at 
which  he  quenches  his  thirst,  or  steal  away  from  him  his 
accustomed  rest,  or  condemn  his  mind  to  the  gloomy  night 
of  ignorance,  is  no  more  an  enemy  of  his  race  than  the  man 
who,  deaf  to  the  entreaties  of  the  poor  and  blind  and  the 
suffering  he  would  cause,  seeks  to  destroy  one  of  the  money 


249 

metals  given  by  the  Almighty  to  supply  the  needs  of  com- 
merce. * 

The  line  of  battle  is  laid  down.  The  President's  letter  to 
jovernor  Northern  expresses  his  oppostion  to  the  free  and 
mlimited  coinage  of  silver  by  this  country  alone.  Upon  that 
issue  the  next  congressional  contest  will  be  fought.  Are  we 
dependent  or  independent  as  a  nation  ?  Shall  we  legislate  for 
ourselves  or  shall  we  beg  some  foreign  nation  to  help  us  pro- 
vide for  the  financial  wants  of  our  own  people  ?  *  *  * 

You  may  think  that  you  have  buried  the  cause  of  bimetal- 
lism ;  you  may  congratulate  yourselves  that  you  have  laid  the 
free  coinage  of  silver  away  in  a  sepulchre,  newly  made  since 
the  election,  and  before  the  door  rolled  the  veto  stone.  But, 
sirs,  if  our  cause  is  just,  as  I  believe  it  is,  your  labor  has  been 
in  vain ;  no  tomb  was  ever  made  so  strong  that  it  could  im- 
prison a  righteous  cause.  Silver  will  yet  lay  aside  its  grave 
clothes  and  its  shroud.  It  will  yet  rise,  and  in  its  rising  and 
its  reign  will  bless  mankind. 

Alexander  "wept  for  other  worlds  to  conquer"  after  he 
had  carried  his  victorious  banner  throughout  the  then  known 
world.  Napoleon  "re-arranged  the  map  of  Europe  with  his 
sword  ' '  amid  the  lamentations  of  those  by  whose  blood  he 
was  exalted  ;  but  when  these  and  other  military  heroes  are  for- 
gotten and  their  achievements  disappear  in  the  cycle's  sweep 
of  years,  children  will  still  lisp  the  name  of  Jefferson,  and 
freemen  will  ascribe  due  praise  to  him  who  filled  the  kneeling 
subject's  hearts  with  hope  and  bade  him  stand  erect  a  sov- 
ereign among  his  peers.  *  * 

The  State  of  Indiana  has  declared  that  no  police  power 
shall  be  conferred  on  the  Pinkerton  detectives ;  and  if  the 
people  of  the  State  of  New  York  do  not  desire  such  powers 
to  be  conferred  upon  them,  it  is  the  business  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  or  any  other  State  which  entertains  that  view,  to 
regulate  it  by  its  own  legislative  enactment.  It  is  not  within 
the  purview  of  Congress,  it  is  not  the  business  of  Congress  to 
interfere  with  the  police  powers  of  the  several  States  of  the 
15 


250 

union.  I  believe  that  the  time  has  come  when  we  ought  to 
squarely  draw  the  line  between  the  powers  conferred 
upon  the  federal  government  and  those  reserved  to  the  States, 
and  that  we  ought  to  stop  this  indiscriminate  investigation 
where  we  clearly  have  no  power  to  legislate.  *  * 

I  have  been  opposed  to  the  issuing  of  money  by  national 
banks,  for  the  reason  that  this  function  of  government  should 
not  be  surrendered  to  any  corporation  or  any  private  concern 
whatever.  On  the  same  ground  I  am  opposed  to  the  States 
authorizing  private  corporations  to  issue  money,  or  so-called 
money. 

Mr.  Bryan  is  not  averse  to  the  employment  of 
the  thoughts  of  others  wherever  they  add  force 
and  attractiveness  to  the  argument  in  hand.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  find  his  speeches  interspersed  with 
quotations  from  some  of  the  best  writers  in  prose 
and  poetry,  but  in  each  instance  the  quotation  has 
a  natural  fitness  for  the  place  in  which  it  is  found. 
No  straining  of  the  lines  of  the  argument  is  per- 
mitted that  the  quotation  may  find  a  place. 
There  are  some  productions  which  pass  for  ora- 
tory that  are  mere  mechanisms — the  offspring 
of  minds  cold  and  plodding  without  a  ray  of 
genius  to  illumine  their  path.  In  tnem,  words 
have  been  dragged  together  in  the  vain  hope  of 
producing  a  flower  worthy  to  be  laid  at  the  feet 
of  oratory,  but  they  are  as  painted  leaves,  they 
are  without  the  odor  of  life.  The  work  of  genius 
springs  spontaneously  from  the  depths  of  a  heart 
ruled  by  purity — "Genius  sees  by  intuition,  illus- 
trates by  pictures,  and  speaks  in  music.  The 


251 

phraseology  in  which  its  sentiments  are  clothed 
is  not  a  kind  of  patch-work  laboriously  tagged 
together,  but  is  part  and  parcel  of  the  thought, 
and  is  born  mature  and  splendid,  like  Minerva 
oflitterinor  from  the  brow  of  love." 

o  o  J 

Briefly  we  have  sketched  the  mere  outlines  of 
the  work  employed  by  Mr.  Bryan  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  great  deliverances  in  behalf  of  human 
rights.  First,  he  masters  the  whole  field  of  argu- 
ment, and  thus  he  prepares  himself  not  only  to 
prove  the  correctness  of  his  own  position,  but  to 
meet  every  objection  that  may  be  offered  against 
it.  He  is  enabled,  too,  by  this  means  to  state 
correctly  the  position  of  his  opponent.  Not  a 
little  of  his  force  in  debate  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
he  states  with  absolute  fairness  the  argument  of 
his  adversary,  and  then,  with  crushing  effect,  hurls 
against  it  the  clean-cut,  well-considered,  over- 
whelming reply.  His  care  in  arranging  the  matter 
which  he  has  gathered  is  no  less  than  that  employed 
in  the  gathering.  By  this  means  he  has  everything 
in  its  place,  subject  to  his  instant  command,  and 
when  sent  forth  on  its  mission  of  truth,  goes  with 
a  force  that  carries  conviction.  The  most  accept- 
able language  is  chosen,  and  so  clear  and  simple 
do  the  most  profound  thoughts  appear  when  they 
come  fresh-coined  from  his  brain,  that  men  have 
no  difficulty  in  comprehending  them  in  all  their 
force.  This  power  was  noted  by  a  critical  ob- 
server of  one  of  the  debates  in  which  Mr.  Bryan 


252 

engaged  when  a  candidate  for  Congress.  The 
observer  was  asked  what  kind  of  an  argument 
Mr.  Bryan's  opponent  made.  He  replied  that  the 
argument  was  very  good,  but  its  strength  was 
obscured  by  involved  and  awkward  sentences, 
and  most  listeners  could  not  comprehend  it  when 
delivered.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Bryan's  argu- 
ment, he  continued,  came  forth  in  language  so 
simple  and  pleasing  that  the  listener  had  not  to 
hesitate  for  a  moment  to  grasp  its  full  force,  and 
thus  the  orator  carried  along  with  him  a  convinced 
as  well  as  an  enthusiastic  audience.  Superficial 
observers  have  spoken  of  this  feature  of  Mr. 
Bryan's  style  as  "  catchy,"  and  frequently  have 
they  said  that  while  he  might  charm  a  "common 
country  audience  "  by  what  they  termed  "  catch 
words,"  he  would  fail  utterly  when  he  came  to 
address  "  men  of  culture."  But  these  critics  did 
not  recognize  in  the  simplicity  of  his  work  the 
hand  of  genius,  and  they  have  lived  to  see  their 
anticipations  dashed  to  atoms.  Twice  the  lower 
house  of  Congress  was  enraptured  by  Mr.  Bryan's 
luminous  powers  of  eloquence.  The  morning 
after  his  great  tariff  speech  the  nation  awoke  to 
hail  him  as  the  peer  of  Webster  or  Prentice.  A 
few  years  later  he  discussed  the  financial  ^question 
before  the  same  body  only  to  win  a  repetition  of 
the  plaudits  which  greeted  the  close  of  his  tariff 
speech.  The  next  day,  and  for  weeks  thereafter, 
the  press  of  the  nation  gave  him  unstinted  praise 


and   crowned    him    one    of    America's    greatest 
orators. 

But  all  his  work  would  accomplish  but  little  if 
not  presided  over  by  "  a  mind  stamped  with  the 
patent  of  Divinity"  and  acting  in  the  glow  of  a 
heart  throbbing  with  the  noblest  and  purest  im- 
pulses. Nor  does  the  great  care  employed  by 
Mr.  Bryan  in  the  preparation  of  his  speeches 
make  him  an  orator.  Preparation  does  not  enable 
him  to  sway  the  minds  of  others  and  place  in 
them  impressions  that  live.  It  is  something  else. 
It  is  a  power  equalled  by  few  and  excelled  by 
none.  It  comes  from  an  unseen  hand- — the  hand 
of  God — and  is  entrusted  to  him  for  noble  ends. 

"  There's  a  charm  in  deliv'ry,  a  magical  art, 

That  thrills  like  a  kiss,  from  the  lip  to  the  heart ; 

'Tis  the  glance — the  expression — the  well-chosen  word — 

By  whose  magic  the  depths  of  the  spirit  are  stirr'd — 

The  smile — the  mute  gesture — the  soul-stirring  pause — 

The  eye's  sweet  expression,  that  melts  while  it  awes — 

The  lip's  soft  persuasion — its  musical  tone ; 

Oh  !  such  were  the  charms  of  that  eloquent  one !  " 

In  personal  appearance  as  well  as  in  mental 
gifts,  Mr.  Bryan  is  highly  favored.  Before  he 
utters  a  word,  his  presence  wins  for  him  the  favor 
of  his  audience.  Simplicity  itself  rules  his  de- 
livery and  bearing,  but  it  is  a  simplicity  in  which 
the  highest  art  wears  all  the  graces  of  nature. 
As  he  stands  before  his  audience,  he  presents  a 


*54 

striking  picture;  every  feature  of  his  strong  face 
is  instinct  with  intelligence ;  his  eyes  dance  with 
the  light  of  a  soul  on  fire  as  he  marches  through 

o  o 

the  depths  of  his  discourse,  pleading  for  the  rights 
of  the  poor  and  of  the  masses.  He  "illustrates  in 
his  own  person  the  ancient  apologue  of  the  youth- 
ful Hercules,  in  the  pride  and  strength  of  beauty, 
surrendering  his  own  soul  to  the  worship  of 
human  rights  and  exalted  virtue  in  public  places." 
He  commences  in  a  soft,  pleasant,  conversa- 
tional tone;  instantly  your  attention  is  riveted 
upon  him  ;  or  rather  upon  what  he  has  to  say. 
You  have  little  disposition  to  study  either  the 
man  or  his  manner — his  thought  is  what  holds 
you.  Nothing  occurs  either  in  tone,  posture,  or 
gesture  to  divert  your  attention,  or  break  the 
spell  that  is  upon  you,  Every  movement  of  arm, 
head  and  body,  every  modulation  comes  as  an  in- 
separable part  of  the  thought  he  is  expressing. 
Your  eyes  are  fastened  upon  the  orator:  as  he 
moves,  you  in  spirit  move  with  him  ;  as  he  ad- 
vances to  his  climax  the  listener  advances  with  him ; 
not  a  step  is  missed,  not  a  break  occurs ;  in  per- 
fect harmony  orator  and  audience  travel  over  the 
path  of  thought  until  the  climax  is  reached  and 
then,  as  the  last  tone  of  the  deep,  rich,  melodious 
voice  of  the  orator  is  uttered  with  a  dramatic 
force  which  thrills  every  fiber,  there  breaks  forth 
the  full,  earnest,  uproarious  applause  that  marks 
the  approval  and  admiration  of  those  who  listen. 


255 

The  hand  of  the  orator  is  raised,  instantly  perfect 
silence  follows.  The  sweet  tones  of  that  marvel- 
ous voice  are  again  heard  by  every  one  within 
the  enclosure,  no  matter  how  vast.  Under  the 
influence  of  that  voice  and  the  magic  of  words  that 
convey  the  thought  of  a  master  mind,  men  sit  en- 
raptured and  applaud  sentiments  which  but  a 
moment  before  they  ridiculed;  they  came  to 
scoff,  but  remain  to  worship. 

It  has  been  said  in  describing  the  auditor  under 
the  influence  of  the  orator's  power,  "  He  is  thrilled 
in  every  nerve,  he  is  agitated  with  rapture.  He 
blends  all  his  emotions  with  the  speaker,  and  is 
subdued  or  inspired  under  his  power.  He  soon 
becomes  stripped  of  all  defence,  and  willingly  ex- 
posed to  every  blow,  so  that  the  greatest  effects 
are  produced  by  the  slightest  words  adroitly  di- 
rected and  skillfully  expressed."  That  this  exactly 
portrays  the  auditor  sitting  under  the  influence  of 
Mr.  Bryan's  orations  will  not  be  denied  by  those 
who  have  listened  to  his  greatest  efforts.  Mr. 

o 

Bryan  never  delivers  a  poor  speech  ;  he  always 
pleases,  but  to  reach  those  heights  of  impassioned 
eloquence  which  none  but  a  master  dares  to  tread, 
he  must  have  the  occasion  and  the  subject.  "  It  is 
only  when  God's  creative  breath  fans  the  fires  of 
patriotism  in  the  soul  sublimely  endowed,  that  a 
true  orator  is  fashioned  for  sovereignty  over  the 
hearts  of  mankind."  If  the  highest  oratory  con- 
sists in  the  power  to  persuade  and  the  force  to 


256 

chain  in  the  blazing  fires  of  the  purest  enthusiasm 
the  intellects  of  men,  then  Mr.  Bryan  is  an  orator 
with  few  peers  in  ancient  or  modern  times.  Well 
we  may  say  of  him  what  the  great  Fenelon  says 
of  Demosthenes :  "  He  moves,  warms  and  capti- 
vates the  heart.  He  was  sensibly  touched  with 
the  interests  of  his  country.  His  discourses  grad- 
ually increase  in  force,  by  greater  light  and  new 
reasons,  which  are  always  illustrated  by  bold  fig- 
ures and  lively  images.  One  cannot  but  see  that 
he  has  the  good  of  the  Republic  entirely  at  heart, 
and  that  nature  itself  speaks  in  all  his  transports." 
There  is  much  in  Mr.  Bryan's  oratory  that  re- 
calls Demosthenes,  Fox,  O'Connell  and  Fisher 
Ames,  but  unlike  any  of  them  he  never  indulges 
in  invective.  Search  his  speeches  through,  whether 
in  Congress,  before  the  Convention,  or  on  the 
stump,  and  you  will  find  them  absolutely  free  from 
personalities.  Methods  and  classes  he  may  de- 
nounce ;  individuals  never.  No  audience  ever 
sat  within  the  sound  of  his  most  fervid  utterances 
and  caught  a  word  that  would  appeal  to  the  lower 
passions  of  anger,  hate  or  revenge.  The  intellect, 
and  the  purer,  higher  affections  of  the  human 
heart  present  the  only  field  in  which  he  loves  to 
labor.  He  is  always  a  master  of  himself.  The 
noblest  passions  may  surge  and  fiercely  burn 
within  his  breast,  but  they  are  like  the  fires  of 
the  volcano,  confined  within  the  snow-capped 
mountain. 


257 

Many  have  constructed  arguments  as  logical  as 
Mr.  Bryan.  Nor  would  it  be  difficult,  perhaps,  to 
find  speeches  of  equal  depth  and  bold  imagery  to 
those  delivered  by  him,  but  this  is  true  of  all  the 
great  tribunes  of  the  people.  Quintilius  says, 
"Logicians  can  be  found  everywhere,  an  able  ar- 
gument is  not  rare,  but  seldom  has  that  orator  ap- 
peared whose  eloquence  could  carry  the  judge 
out  of  his  depth,  who  could  throw  him  into  what 
disposition  of  mind  he  pleased,  fire  him  into  re- 
sentment, or  soften  him  into  tears.  Many  have 
constructed  arguments  as  logical  as  those  of 
Demosthenes,  or  Cicero,  but  none  ever  arrayed 
them  before  their  audiences  with  such  magic 
power." 

One  of  Bryan's  best  speeches  was  that  on  the 
subject  "  Money,"  in  which  he  gave  his  famous 
apostrophe  to  Jefferson.  It  is  as  follows : 

"  There  are  wrongs  to  be  righted ;  there  are 
evils  to  be  eradicated ;  there  is  injustice  to  be  re- 
moved ;  there  is  good  to  be  secured  for  those  who 
toil  and  wait.  In  this  fight  for  equal  laws  we  can- 
not fail,  for  right  is  mighty  and  will  in  time  triumph 
over  all  obstacles.  Even  if  our  eyes  do  not  be- 
hold success,  we  know  that  our  labor  is  not  in 
vain,  and  we  can  lay  down  our  weapons,  happy  in 
the  promise  given  by  Bryant  to  the  soldier : 

"  '  Yea,  though  thou  lie  upon  the  dust, 

When  they  who  helped  thee  flee  in  fear 


Die  full  of  hope  and  manly  trust, 
Like  those  who  fell  in  battle  here. 

"  'Another  hand  thy  sword  shall  wield ; 

Another  hand  the  standard  wave; 
Till  from  the  trumpet's  mouth  is  pealed 
The  blast  of  triumph  o'er  thy  grave.' 

"  Let  us  then  with  the  courage  of  Andrew  Jack- 
son, apply  to  present  conditions  the  principles 
taught  by  Thomas  Jefferson — Thomas  Jefferson, 
the  greatest  constructive  statesman  whom  the 
world  has  ever  known  ;  the  grandest  warrior  who 
ever  battled  for  human  liberty !  He  quarried 
from  the  mountain  of  eternal  truth  the  four  pil- 
lars, upon  whose  strength  all  popular  government 
must  rest.  In  the  Declaration  of  American  Inde- 
pendence he  proclaimed  the  principles  with  which 
there  is,  without  which  there  cannot  be  'a  govern- 
ment of  the  peopje,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people.'  When  he  declared  that  '  all  men  are 
created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights ;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness;  that  to  secure  these  rights  govern- 
ments are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,' 
he  declared  all  that  lies  between  the  Alpha  and 
Omega  of  Democracy. 

"  Alexander  '  wept  for  other  worlds  to  conquer  ' 
after  he  had  carried  his  victorious  banner  through- 


259 

out  the  then  known  world.  Napoleon  '  rearranged 
the  map  of  Europe  with  his  sword '  amid  the 
lamentations  of  those  by  whose  blood  he  was 
exalted  ;  but  when  these  and  other  military  heroes 
are  forgotten  and  their  achievements  disappear  in 
the  cycle's  sweep  of  years,  children  will  still  lisp 
the  name  of  Jefferson,  and  freemen  will  ascribe 
due  praise  to  him  who  filled  the  kneeling  subject's 
heart  with  hope  and  bade  him  stand  erect — a 
sovereign  among  his  peers." 


CHAPTER    XII. 
BRYAN   AT   HOME. 

In  a  country  where  no  man  is  born  to  authority, 
but  where  each  must  acquire  place  through  his 
own  achievements,  it  is  inevitable  that  the  private 
life  of  public  men  should  be  closely  scrutinized. 
This  country  has  never  ceased  to  be  a  democracy 
in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  some  of  its  worst  ene- 
mies, and  in  a  democracy  the  good  citizen  is  the 
bulwark.  The  American  people  still  believe  that 
a  man  who  does  not  fulfill  his  obligations  to  the 
community  as  a  good  husband  and  father,  and  an 
honorable  man  of  business,  can  not  be  fit  to  ad- 
minister the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  peo- 
ple. Moreover,  this  is  a  country  where  the  sen- 
timent of  women  counts  for  much,  and  the  influ- 
ence of  women  is  frankly  acknowledged.  The 
home-life  of  a  man,  and  those  who  make  his 
home-life,  have  much  to  do,  it  is  maintained,  with 
his  success. 

Mr.  Bryan  has  been  very  fortunate.  Twelve 
years  ago  he  married  a  sensible  and  lovely  wo- 
man, who  has  made  it  easy  for  him  to  remain  the 
domestic  man  that  he  is.  What  has  been  the 
duty  of  many  men,  has  been  his  pleasure.  Home 

is  and  always  has  been,  the  fairest  spot  on  earth 
(260) 


26l 

to  him,  and  he  is  to  be  congratulated  as  much  as 
praised  for  his  unswerving  fidelity  to  it. 

Concerning  Mr.  Bryan's  devotion  to  his  home, 
the  eulogistic  language  he  himself  used  in  speak- 
ing of  the  happy  home  of  a  colleague  is  entirely 
appropriate : 

"  He  found  his  inspiration  at  his  fireside,  and 
approached  the  ideal  in  his  domestic  life.  He 
and  his  faithful  wife,  who  was  both  his  helpmeet 
and  companion,  inhabited  as  tenants  in  common 
that  sacred  spot  called  home,  and  needed  no  court 
to  define  their  relative  rights  and  duties.  The 
invisible  walls  which  shut  in  that  home  and  shut 
out  all  else  had  their  foundations  upon  the  earth 
and  their  battlements  in  the  skies.  No  force 
could  break  them  down,  no  poisoned  arrows  could 
cross  their  top,  and  at  the  gates  thereof  love  and 
confidence  stood  ever  upon  guard." 

Mrs.  Wm.  J.  Bryan  was  Mary  Elizabeth  Baird. 
Her  father,  John  Baird,  was  born  in  Northampton 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Baird  is  of  Scotch- 
Irish  descent.  There  is  a  record  of  his  ancestry 
running  back  at  least  thirteen  generations,  which 
reveals  many  men  and  women  of  more  than  or- 
dinary ability,  all  of  whom  have  taken,  as  even 
those  of  the  last  generation  may  take,  pride  in  the 
fact  that  not  a  taint  has  ever  rested  upon  that 
good  family  name.  Mr.  Baird  moved  west  in 
1838  and  in  1852  was  married  to  the  daughter  of 
Col.  Darius  Dexter  of  Dexterville,  New  York. 


262 

Mr.  Baird  located  at  Perry,  Illinois ;  and  here  on 
the  1 7th  day  of  June,  1861,  Mary  was  born. 

In  those  days  Perry  was  a  trading-post  of  quite 
a  large  territory.  Mr.  Baird  engaged  with  a 
partner  in  an  extensive  business  which  comprised, 
in  the  earlier  days,  a  general  store — a  shoe-shop, 
harness-shop,  pork-packing  house  and  a  general 
grain  and  shipping  business.  This  firm  did  quite 
an  extensive  business  in  shipments  to  the  city  of 
St.  Louis,  using-  the  river  steamboats  for  trans- 

o 

portation.  Mr.  Baird  was  a  gentleman  of 
scholarly  instincts  and  a  great  reader.  Although 
a  very  busy  man,  he  became  the  companion  of  his 
daughter  who  was  his  only  child,  and  he  related 
to  her  the  stories  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  and  of 
Greek  mythology  at  the  time  when  the  little  girl 
could  not  read  them  for  herself.  Mr.  Baird  was 
himself  a  self-educated  man,  and  he  appreciated 
the  great  value  of  a  thorough  education  ;  conse- 
quently, he  devoted  his  best  energies  to  making  a 
perfect  woman,  intellectually,  of  his  beloved  child. 
Mrs.  Bryan's  mother  was  an  invalid  and  upon 
the  daughter  rested  a  great  deal  of  the  care  of 
her  mother.  Mrs.  Bryan  attended  the  High 
School  at  Perry,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  went 
to  Monticello  Seminary  at  Godfrey,  Illinois,  re- 
maining there  for  one  year,  but  on  account  of  the 
serious  condition  of  her  mother's  health  she  found 
it  necessary  to  be  nearer  home  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  entered  the  Presbyterian  Academy  at 


263 

Jacksonville,  from  which  institution  she  was 
graduated  in  1881  with  the  first  honors  of  her 
class. 

While  Miss  Baird  was  attending  the  Presby- 
terian Academy  at  Jacksonville,  Mr.  Bryan  was  a 
student  at  the  Illinois  College  in  the  same  city. 
The  two  young  people  first  met  at  a  reception  in 
the  Academy  parlors.  A  very  pretty  story  has 
been  going  the  rounds  to  the  effect  that  Miss 
Baird  heard  Mr.  Bryan  recite  "A  Soldier  of  the 
Legion,"  and  was  captivated  with  him.  The  story  t 
however,  is  without  foundation.  The  fact  is  that 
the  young  people  met  at  this  college  reception 
and  they  fell  in  love  with  one  another  just  as  two 
good-looking  and  sensible  people  would  be  ex- 
pected to  do,  and  at  the  time  Miss  Baird  had 
never  detected  the  fire  of  oratory  in  her  young 
lover  and  did  not  know  that  he  could  even  deliver 
"  Casabianca"  with  more  than  ordinary  effect  until 
long  after  their  first  meeting.  The  young  people 
were  engaged  for  a  period  covering  a  little  more 
than  four  years.  During  the  year  preceding  their 
marriage,  Mr.  Bryan  practised  law  in  Jacksonville. 
The  young  man  had  already  built  up  a  paying 
practice  and  the  young  lovers  planned  and  built 
their  first  home  before  they  were  married,  and  on 
October  i,  1884,  the  marriage  ceremony  took 
place  and  they  began  housekeeping  in  their  own 
home.  This  house  stands  to-day  on  College  Hill 
in  Jacksonville,  near  the  Illinois  College.  Mr. 


264 

Bryan  continued  the  practice  of  law  in  Jackson- 
ville for  three  years  after  his  marriage.  On 
October  2,  1885,  their  first  child,  Ruth,  was  born. 

In  1887  they  removed  to  Nebraska,  Mr.  Bryan 
feeling  that  in  the  stirring  West  was  more  oppor- 
tunity for  success.  Mrs.  Bryan  agreed  with  him. 
From  the  first  she  liked  the  West  and  made  her- 
self perfectly  at  home  at  Lincoln.  She  took  up 
the  study  of  the  law,  desiring  to  fit  herself  for  the 
consideration  of  legal  questions,  not  with  any  ex- 
pectation of  practising  herself,  but  that  she  might 
be  of  assistance  to  her  husband,  and  also  that  she 
might  have  the  mental  training  resultant  from  such 
study. 

The  Bryans  have  now  three  children,  Ruth,  who 
is  nearly  eleven,  William,  who  is  seven,  and  Grace, 
who  is  five.  All  of  the  children  are  comely,  well 
behaved,  well  taught,  and  very  dearly  beloved. 
In  short,  the  home  of  the  Bryans  is  the  simple 
American  home.  Mrs.  Bryan,  who  has  never 
been  a  society  woman,  spends  the  early  part  of 
her  evenings  reading  to  her  children.  They  have 
always  received  her  direct  personal  care.  Her 
responsibilities  have  not  been  light  in  any  respect. 
Besides  her  young  children,  she  has  had  her  aged 
father  and  mother  with  her,  and  her  affection 
for  them  has  been  such  that  she  has  been  closely 
kept  at  home.  Her  mother  is  now  dead,  but  her 
father  remains,  and  he  receives  her  solicitous 
care. 


265 

Mrs.  Bryan  has  a  singular  activity  of  mind. 
She  is  logical,  studious,  industrious  and  aspiring. 
Above  all,  she  is  sensible.  She  has  kept  in  touch 
with  each  detail  of  her  husband's  advancement 
in  a  political  way.  She  knows  the  political  situa* 
tion  and  all  the  minutiae  of  local  political  affairs  ac- 
curately, giving  them  their  due  importance,  and 
regarding  them  in  a  philosophic  manner.  She 
has  been  a  faithful  critic  to  her  husband,  assisting 
in  the  collection  of  material  for  his  speeches,  and 
giving  him  the  benefit  of  her  advice.  She  has 
been  his  closest  confidante,  and,  probably,  his 
most  trusted  adviser.  Hers  is  not  a  mind  to  be 
swayed  by  prejudice.  She  is  not  given  to  undue 
enthusiasm.  In  short,  she  is  possessed  of  that 
poise  which  makes  her  one  of  the  safest  of  com- 
panions for  a  man  of  affairs,  who  is  about  to  be 
plunged  into  a  historic  campaign. 

Mrs.  Bryan  has  maintained  her  democratic 
principles  in  her  household,  where  intelligent 
liberty  prevails.  The  children  are  directed,  but 
not  tyrannized  over.  She  does  not  believe  in 
doing  anything  likely  to  destroy  their  individuality. 
In  religion  her  children  are  taught  reverence,  tol- 
erance and  devotion.  She  has  tried  to  teach  them 
that  it  is  a  sacred  duty  to  do  the  best  they  can 
with  their  lives.  To  educate,  not  to  coerce,  is 
Mrs.  Bryan's  simple  policy. 

The  home  of  the  Bryans  is  substantial,  hospi- 
table and  well-kept.  Within,  one  is  greeted  by  an 
16 


266 

atmosphere  of  unpretentious  comfort,  simple  cor- 
diality and  unaffected  refinement.  The  rooms  are 
quietly  and  comfortably  furnished.  Pictures, 
books,  statuettes,  souvenirs  of  certain  historic  oc- 
casions in  their  lives,  mementoes  of  distinguished 
persons,  and  gifts  from  admirers  compose  what 
is  precious  in  the  house.  In  the  library  there  is  a 
double  desk,  one  side  of  which  belongs  to  Mr. 
Bryan  and  one  to  his  wife.  Here  they  work 
together  in  their  quiet  hours.  At  times  this 
happy  intimacy  has  filled  them  with  a  sort  of 
dread. 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  I  like  this  desk,"  she  once 
said.  "  What  should  I  do  with  it  if  you  were  to 
leave  this  life  before  I  do  ?  I  sometimes  wonder 
if  it  is  not  dangerous  for  two  lives  to  be  so  bound 
together.  How  could  one  bear  parting  after  such 
association  as  this  ?  " 

Mrs.  Bryan  is  an  honest  student  of  good  litera- 
ture. She  is  one  of  the  organizers  of  "  Sorosis," 
one  of  the  women's  study  clubs,  and  she  holds 
its  highest  office.  She  is  a  prominent  worker  in 
the  Nebraska  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs, 
and  one  of  a  committee  which  has  in  charge  the 
traveling  library  of  that  association.  Among  club 
women  she  has  won  no  little  reputation  for  her 
work.  She  can  speak  extemporaneously  on  any 
subject  in  which  she  is  interested,  in  a  calm,  con- 
cise, telling  manner.  She  will  never  speak  for 


267 

the  sake  of  speaking,  or  upon  a  subject  with  which 
she  is  unacquainted. 

Mrs.  Bryan's  attire  is  always  very  simple.  She 
wears  only  quiet  colors,  usually  browns  or  greys. 
But  her  costumes  are  becoming  and  effective.  She 
always  appears  to  be  a  well-dressed  woman  ;  that 
is  to  say,  no  one  ever  thinks  about  her  clothes  at 
all.  They  are  in  such  good  taste  that  they  are 
not  observed.  She  has  a  sense  of  propriety  in 
dress,  and  always  wears  what  is  suitable  to  the 
occasion.  She  would  always  dress  with  modest 
propriety,  just  as  she  always  speaks  with  modest 
propriety.  Even  these  few  sentences  have  laid 
more  stress  upon  her  toilet  than  she  ever  did. 

Mrs.  Bryan  is  sociable  to  a  degree,  and  heartily 
enjoys  meeting  people.  She  is  far  too  wholesome 
to  have  any  of  the  affectations  of  a  recluse.  But 
a  purely  fashionable  society  would  never  please 
her.  She  would  feel  the  need,  always,  in  her 
social  relations,  for  intelligent  conversation.  Any 
society  which  did  not  give  her  this  would  be  dis- 
tasteful to  her.  She  would  be  impatient  with  a 
society  which  stood  for  competition  in  luxury,  or 
in  which  pretention  was  conspicuous.  Moreover, 
her  nature  is  too  affectionate,  and  she  is  too  fond 
of  real  friendship,  to  endure  the  shallow  relations 
of  fashionable  society. 

She  has  been  present  at  all  of  her  husband's 
greatest  forensic  triumphs.  When  Mr.  Bryan,  in 
the  beginning  of  his  Congressional  career,  made 


268 

his  famous  tariff  speech,  she  listened  from  the 
galleries.  She  was  present  at  the  Chicago  Con- 
vention when  he  turned  the  tide  and  made  an 
epoch  in  his  party.  She  sat  on  the  stand  when  he 
received  his  nomination,  and  showed  her  profound 
gratification  only  with  a  few  quiet  tears.  Through- 
out all  the  tremendously  exciting  scenes  of  that 
day  she  was  one  of  the  calmest  persons  in  the 
house.  When  she  joined  him  at  the  Clifton  House, 
where  he  received  the  news  of  his  nomination,  a 
silent  kiss  expressed  her  congratulations.  She 
probably  was  not  in  the  least  surprised.  From 
the  first  she  had  felt  perfect  confidence  in  his 
ability.  It  would  not  be  in  her  to  be  surprised  at 
having  her  judgment  confirmed. 

Mrs.  Bryan  is  comely.  Her  face  is  pale,  well 
modeled  and  placid.  It  resembles  that  of  her 
husband  in  some  respects.  At  least,  it  gives  a 
similar  suggestion  of  strength  and  purity.  It  is 
the  face  of  a  sensible  and  affectionate  woman  ; 
and  it  is  typically  American. 

Mr.  Bryan  has  been  very  fortunate,  and  he  has 
shown  his  appreciation  of  his  blessings  in  the 
best  way  possible,  by  unfaltering  devotion. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
PERILS  OF  THE  GOLD  STANDARD. 

Mr.  James  Dobson  is  known  to  the  merchants 
throughout  the  United  States.  He  is  of  the 
great  manufacturing  firm  of  John  &  James  Dob- 
son,  of  Philadelphia.  In  an  interview  in  the  New 
York  Mail  and  Express  Mr.  Dobson  shows  very 
clearly  the  evil  effects  of  the  single  gold  standard. 

Mr.  Dobson  said:  "In  1890  there  were  im- 
ported into  the  United  States  from  Japan  300,000 
rolls  of  so-called  China  mattings  at  an  average 
cost  of  twelve  and  three-eighths  cents  per  yard. 
In  1895  ^e  importation  of  China  mattings  had 
increased  to  800,000  rolls,  at  five  and  one-fifth 
cents  per  yard.  That  is  equivalent  to  32,000,000 
yards  at  five  and  one-fifth  cents,  instead  of  at 
twelve  and  three-eighths  cents  five  years  ago,  all 
on  account  of  the  difference  in  exchange  caused 
by  the  separation  in  value  of  the  gold  and  silver 
dollar.  I  repeat  that  the  price  at  which  these 
mattings  are  imported  in  such  enormous  quanti- 
ties, supplanting  our  own  ingrain  carpets,  is 
wholly  due  to  the  rate  of  exchange  caused  by  the 
fact  that  Japan  is  upon  a  silver  standard  while  we 
are  upon  a  gold  standard.  Japanese  silks  are  af- 
fecting the  domestic  silk  trade  precisely  as  mat- 

269 


270 

tings  are  ruining  the  carpet  trade.  Let  me  quote 
figures  to  prove  that  also.  In  1890  the  United 
States  imported  only  1 2,000  pieces  of  Japanese 
silk.  In  1895  we  imported  404,164  pieces,  or 
over  thirty  times  more.  This  has  demoralized 
the  silk  industry  of  this  country,  and  so  long  as 
the  rate  of  exchange  remains  as  it  is  no  duty 
could  be  imposed  high  enough  to  check  these  im- 
portations. So  with  silk  handkerchiefs.  In  1890 
we  imported  354,000  dozen.  In  1895  the  impor- 
tation increased  to  1,100,000  dozen.  That  shows 
graphically,  I  think,  the  abnormal  and  alarming 
increase  of  importations.  So  with  many  other 
lesser  articles.  Why,  the  Japanese  are  supplying 
the  world  to-day  with  tooth  brushes. 

"But  another  great  industry  is  threatened. 
The  Japs  have  gone  largely  into  cotton  manufac- 
turing. No  nation  in  the  world  has  made  such 
rapid  progress  in  this  industry  as  has  Japan. 
Their  300,000  spindles  in  1894  jumped  at  a 
bound  to  750,000  in  1895,  an<^  tneY  have  orders 
placed  in  England  to-day  for  750,000  more.  That 
is  an  increase  of  spindles  at  the  astonishing  rate 
of  loo  per  cent,  a  year.  So  I  have  shown  you 
that  in  the  three  great  items  of  mattings,  silks 
and  cotton  cloth  the  difference  in  exchange  be- 

o 

tween  the  Japanese  silver  standard  and  our  pres- 
ent single  gold  standard  is  ruining  three  great 
branches  of  American  manufacturing.  The  South 
*nust,  in  time,  feel  this,  as  well  as  Pennsylvania, 


New  York  and  New  England,  for  the  South  is 
destined,  under  normal  conditions,  to  be  the  home 
of  the  cotton  factory." 

Mr.  Dobson,  who  favors  a  protective  tariff,  was 
asked :  "  Cannot  these  increased  importations  be 
charged  in  part  to  the  lower  duties  of  the  Wilson- 
Gorman  tariff  law  ?" 

Mr.  Dobson  replied  as  follows:  "Take  silks 
alone.  The  rate  of  duty  on  silks  is  only  5  per  cent, 
lower  under  the  present  tariff  than  it  was  under 
the  McKinley  law.  That  is  not  difference  enough 
to  multiply  the  silk  importations  of  1 890  by  thirty 
in  1895.  Matting  under  the  McKinley  act  paid 
20  per  cent.  duty.  Now  it  is  admitted  free.  Add 
20  per  cent,  on  the  first  cost  in  Japan — four  cents 
per  yard— and  it  makes  the  cost  -ffo  cents  per 
yard  more,  making  the  cost,  if  imported  under 
the  McKinley  law,  six  cents  per  yard,  and  under 
the  present  law  five  and  one-half  cents  per  yard, 
the  difference  being  in  the  rate  of  exchange  from 
a  silver  to  a  gold  standard.  In  other  words, when 
gold  and  silver  were  of  nearly  equal  value,  the 
cost  of  matting  was  twelve  and  three-eighths 
cents,  as  against  five  and  one-fifth  cents  to-day." 

"  Why  does  not  this  oriental  competition  affect 
other  manufactures,  such  as  iron  and  steel  ?" 

"It  will  in  time.  When  a  nation  like  Japan 
first  enters  the  markets  of  the  world,  it  naturally 
offers  for  sale  the  cheapest  and  plainest  fabrics, 
requiring  the  least  skill  to  make.  As  soon  as 


272 

this  field  is  covered,  as  it  already  is  in  part,  the 
new  competing  nation  will  turn  its  attention  to 
costlier  fabrics,  requiring  more  labor  and  skill. 
Most  woolen  goods,  as  well  as  most  iron  and  steel 
products,  are  thus  far  made  in  countries  which 
are  like  ourselves,  on  a  gold  basis;  so  that  in 
these  branches  of  industry  we  are  not  yet  con- 
fronted with  a  bounty  of  100  per  cent,  in  favor  of 
the  manufacturer  in  a  silver  country.  Gradually, 
eastern  competition  may  drive  the  single  gold 
standard  countries  into  killing  competition  with 
one  another,  and  the  United  States  will  become 
the  dumping  ground  of  all  foreign  products,  un- 
less we  protect  ourselves." 

Mr.  Dobson  was  asked  to  give  some  illustra- 
tions of  how  these  importations  had  affected 
American  labor. 

"  That  is  the  saddest  part  of  the  tale,"  was  the 
reply.  Mr.  Dobson  led  the  way  to  a  window, 
which  he  threw  open.  "  Look  down  there,"  said 
he,  pointing  down  the  hill.  "You  see  a  few  lights 
gleaming  yonder  in  the  valley.  Two  years  ago 
all  the  surrounding  blackness  would  have  been 
twinkling  with  the  lighted  windows  of  happy  and 
prosperous  homes."  The  manufacturer  sighed 
as  he  gazed  down  upon  the  dark  Schuylkill  val- 
ley, and  returned  to  his  library.  He  resumed : 
"  Here  are  more  figures,  but  they  have  human 
interest  and  carry  a  pathetic  meaning.  The  pres- 
ent importation  of  China  mattings  would  keep 


273 

busy  2,500  ingrain  carpet  looms.  That  means 
work,  directly,  for  7,500  weavers,  dyers  and  spin- 
ners. That  means  labor  and  wages  for  one-half 
the  ingrain  carpet  workers  of  Philadelphia.  That 
.means  that  about  30,000  people  are  indirectly 
caused  to  suffer  by  the  stoppage  of  those  2,500 
looms.  Not  one-half  of  the  ingrain  looms  in  the 
country  are  running  to-day.  That  means  that 
thousands  of  trained  employes  are  out  of  work. 
And  this  does  not  apply  to  the  weaving  of  ingrain 
carpets  alone.  What  affects  ingrains  must  affect 
other  branches  of  the  trade.  The  making  of 
tapestries  and  Brussels  suffers  as  well." 

Mr.  Dobson  was  so  absorbed  in  this  branch  of 
his  subject  that  he  closed  his  eyes,  and  talking  as 
if  to  himself,  plunged  into  a  little  mental  arithmetic. 

"  Let  me  see,  404,000  pieces  of  silk  would  be 
16,000,000  yards  a  year.  One  loom  weaves  six- 
teen yards  a  day.  That  would  mean  about  3,300 
looms  a  year  to  make  the  silk  we  imported  in  1895 
from  Japan  alone,  not  to  speak  of  China.  That, 
I  believe,  is  just  about  the  number  of  silk  looms 
now  idle  at  Paterson.  That  throws  directly  out 
of  work  10,000  people — dyers,  throsters  and  spin- 
ners. Indirectly,  that  brings  hardship  to  50,000 
people.  Those  disasters  have  not  yet  struck  our 
cotton  mills.  But  they  are  coming,  and  coming 
soon,  and  they  will  strike  New  England  and  check 
the  growth  of  the  New  South." 

"  Mr.  Dobson,  will  you  say  to  what  extent  these 


274 

oriental  importations  have  stopped  the  payment 

of  wages  within  your  personal  knowledge  ?  " 

"I  do  not  like  that  part  of  my  story,"  he  re- 
plied, "but  I'll  tell  you  approximately.  In  1893 
our  pay-roll  reached  $136,0x50  a  month.  Our- 
mills  were  then  running  full  and  gave  steady 
work  to  5,000  people.  To-day  our  pay-roll  is 
$60,000  a  month.  By  reductions  of  time  and  like 
devices  we  managed  to  distribute  these  wages 

o 

among  about  4,000  people.  We  take  care  of  as 
many  as  we  can,  but  there  is  so  much  less  for 
them  to  do  and  so  much  less  for  them  to  earn, 
and  so  much  less  for  them  to  spend,  and  so  much 
less  for  I  don't  know  how  many  thousand  other 
people  to  receive  and  to  respend  in  their  turn.  I 
think  those  figures  are  sadly  eloquent,  and  they 
apply  only  to  our  own  local  community,  right 
here  at  the  falls  of  the  Schuylkill.  But  think  of 
the  other  communities.  Go  to  Kensington — 
Kensington,  you  know,  is  a  northern  suburb  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  Delaware  River.  There  are 
Dolan  &  Co.'s  woolen  mills.  I  am  sure  that  not 
one-half  of  their  people  who  were  working  on  full 
time  at  good  wages  in  1893  can  get  anY  work  at 
all  now.  That  statement  will  apply  to  every 
branch  of  the  woolen  business,  excepting  only  the 
mills  that  make  women's  fancy  dress  goods.  Most 
of  those  mills,  I  believe,  are  still  running  full. 
And  then  think  of  the  Paterson  silk  mills  !  " 
Mr.  Dobson  explained  that  he  preferred  to 


275 

confine  his  statement  to  the  shrinkage  of  pay-rolls 
in  dollars  to  his  own  experience,  but  suggested 
that  the  figures  he  had  already  given  carried  their 
own  inference.  Then  he  went  on  : 

"All  this  means  distress  to  both  employes  and 
manufacturers.  The  employes  are  earning  either 
little  or  nothing  at  all,  and  yet  they  must  live, 
and  their  necessity  is  dire.  The  manufacturer 
suffers  because  his  expenses  are  constant  for  in- 
surance, maintenance  of  plant  and  other  items. 
These  expenses  in  the  aggregate  are  an  enormous 
tax  upon  the  capital  invested  in  these  crippled  in- 
dustries. For  example,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Providence,  R.  I.,  there  are  seventy-five  woolen 
mills.  Of  them  fifty-four  are  standing  still  and 
the  rest  are  running  only  four  days  a  week.  It  is 
hard  to  put  into  words  what  distress  that  means 
to  both  capital  and  labor. 

"Why,  in  all  my  experience  of  many  years  I 
have  never  seen  business  in  such  a  condition  as 
it  is  to-day.  People  won't  buy  goods,  because 
they  think  that  at  another  time  they  can  buy  them 
cheaper.  There  is  no  stability  in  prices.  For 
example,  only  last  week  10,000  cases  of  ginghams 
were  sold  in  New  York  at  from  three  and  one- 
half  to  three  and  three-quarter  cents  a  yard.  Only 
a  few  weeks  ago  the  price  of  these  goods  would 
have  been  to  jobbers  six  to  seven  cents  a  yard. 
To-day  cotton  cloth  for  converting  purposes  and 
for  export  sells  in  the  South  at  thirteen  cents  per 


276 

pound  That  is  simply  unprecedented  in  the  an- 
nals of  manufacturing." 

It  was  suggested  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
trace  the  effect  of  these  disasters  upon  other 
classes  of  capital  and  labor  in  our  social  and  in- 
dustrial system. 

"Yes,  to  their  furthest  extent,"  said  Mr.  Dob- 
son,  "but  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  see  how 
they  affect  the  great  business  of  transportation.  I 
believe  that  the  railroads  employ  one  per  cent,  of 
all  the  employes  of  the  country.  Now,  when  the 
factories  of  the  country  are  not  busy,  they  furnish 
less  freight  to  the  railroads,  whose  earnings  fall 
off  until  they  go  into  the  hands  of  receivers.  That 
is  the  condition  of  sixty- two  per  cent,  of  the  rail- 
roads of  the  country  to-day.  Unless  we  manu- 
facturers can  give  business  to  the  railroads  I  don't 
see  how  they  can  pay  their  interest  charges  and 
prosper.  This,  of  course,  finally  reaches  the 
pockets  of  the  stockholders,  big  and  little,  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  carries  distress  to  those 
who  had  hoped  to  live  on  their  invested  earnings. 
We  owe  an  enormous  foreign  indebtedness  to 
our  railroads.  Many  of  our  railroads  have  bor- 
rowed all  they  can,  until  almost  all  their  rolling 
stock  is  pledged  to  car  trusts,  and  they  have  noth- 
ing left  to  borrow  on.  Not  a  railroad  security 
falls  due  but  that  is  paid  off  by  issuing  a  new  se- 
curity. In  other  words,  they  are  not  paying  their 
debts,  but  are  keeping  their  borrowing  capacity  up 
to  its  extreme  limit." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
A  VOICE  FROM  BOSTON. 

The  following  is  an  editorial  taken  from  the 
Boot  and  Shoe  Record,  a  representative  business 
publication  at  Boston  : — 

"It  is  not  easy  to  decide  whether  the  financial 
authorities  (?)  who  control  the  daily  press  in  this 
part  of  the  country  are  stupidly  ignorant  or 
lamentably  disingenuous  in  their  statements  about 
our  alleged  dependence  on  foreign  capital  or 
about  the  threatened  withdrawals  of  foreign  capi- 
tal by  reason  of  the  silver  scare.  Now  foreign 
capital  either  refuses  to  go  to  silver-using  coun- 
tries or  it  does  not.  It  is  a  question  of  fact  and 
not  of  opinion.  If  doing  business  on  anything 
but  the  gold  standard  scares  off  investors,  then 
we  will  certainly  find  the  proof  in  a  silver-using 
country  like  Mexico,  where  gold  is  counted  at 
nearly  100  per  cent,  premium.  In  the  financial 
columns  of  the  Boston  Herald,  which  editorially 
tells  of  the  terrible  things  that  will  happen  if  we 
favor  silver  in  the  slightest  degree,  we  find  the 
following : — 

"A  city  of  Mexico  special  says:  "The  Bank 
of  London  and  Mexico  will  increase  its  capital 
to  $10,000,000,  in  order  to  provide  funds  for  its 

277 


278 

growing  business.  It  had  just  paid  14  per  cent, 
dividend. 

"  The  National  Bank  of  Mexico  has  purchased 
Hotel  De  La  Gran  Sociedad,  and  is  expected  to 
build  a  magnificent  edifice  on  its  site. 

"The  Deutsche  Bank  of  Berlin  has  decided  to 
open  a  branch  here,  with  ample  capital,  on  the 
first  day  of  June.  There  is  a  great  interest 
aroused  in  financial  circles  by  this  attempt  of  the 
greatest  bank  of  Central  Europe  to  secure  busi- 
ness in  this  country,  and  the  fact  that  it  will  open 
a  branch  is  taken  to  indicate  confidence  in  the 
financial  solvency  and  continued  prosperity  of  this 
country.  The  new  bank  will  be  managed  by 
Baron  Bleichroeder's  former  agent  here,  Dr. 
Gloner,  and  Pablo  Kosidowski,  German  consul. 

"A  new  private  bank  will  also  be  opened  here 
July  1st.  It  is  reported  that  when  the  new  bank- 
ing law  goes  into  effect,  permitting  the  establish- 
ment of  banks  of  issue  in  the  interior,  several 
institutions  of  credit  will  be  opened. 

"The  Government  has  a  heavy  balance  in  cash, 
and  is  meeting  all  its  obligations  with  punctuality. 
The  national  revenue  is  exceeding  all  expecta- 
tions. 

"There  is  a  remarkable  amount  of  residential 
buildings  here,  and  every  indication  of  solid  and 
permanent  prosperity.  Bankers  report  everybody 
well  supplied  with  funds,  and  business  generally 
very  satisfactory." 


279 

Does  this  look  like  a  scare  or  not  ?  Are  any 
banks  in  this  country  paying  14  per  cent,  divi- 
dends ?  Can  banks  here  or  in  any  gold-standard 
country  report  "  everybody  well  supplied  with 
funds  and  business  generally  very  satisfactory," 
or  not  ?  Isn't  it  about  time  that  the  hard-headed 
business  men  of  the  country  used  their  common 
sense  and  stopped  cowering  like  frightened  chil- 
dren at  the  bug-a-boo  threats  of  the  great  editors? 
Could  we  not  stand  a  good  deal  of  that  kind  of 
ruin  and  disaster? 

Referring  again  to  the  evidence  from  Japan,  we 
have  the  statements  of  Hon.  Robert  P.  Porter, 
who  has  just  returned  from  that  country,  where 
he  has  been  investigating  the  industrial  condi- 
tions. He  says  that  he  deems  the  question  of 
Japanese  competition  one  of  the  momentous  prob- 
lems that  the  American  nation  will  have  to  solve, 
and  that  the  danger  lies  not  so  much  in  the  present 
competition  in  the  undeveloped  state  of  Japanese 
resources  as  in  the  enormous  rapidity  of  the 
growth  of  the  Japanese  output  in  all  lines  of 
manufacture  which  they  enter.  Ten  years  ago, 
according  to  Mr.  Porter,  the  whole  Japanese 
trade  amounted  to  $78,000,000,  while  last  year  it 
had  increased  to  $300,000,000.  The  export  of 
textiles  alone  increased  from  $511,000  to  $23,- 
000,000  in  the  ten  years. 

The  really  important  point  to  be  noted  in 
regard  to  this  mass  of  evidence  from  Mexico, 


280 

Japan,  and  in  fact  from  all  the  silver-using  coun- 
tries, is  that  the  remarkable  development  ha; 
been  made  during  the  last  ten  years,  or  since  the 
marked  decline  in  the  gold  value  of  silver.  In 
the  case  of  Japan,  that  country,  by  reason  of  the 
commercial  treaties  forced  upon  it  by  England, 
was  prevented  from  levying  protective  duties  on 
imports.  The  native  industries  were  able  to 
make  but  little  headway  against  the  imports  from 
Europe,  and  for  fifty  years  there  was  no  progress 
to  speak  of.  When  England  succeeded  in  forc- 
ing the  gold  standard  on  other  countries  and  sil- 
ver was  displaced,  the  premium  on  gold  in  Japan 
operated  as  a  protective  duty  of  about  100  per 
cent.  This  gave  the  stimulus  needed,  and,  as  the 
evidence  proves,  the  development  has  been 
something  wonderful.  Of  course,  great  indus- 
tries cannot  be  built  up  in  a  year,  and  we  do  not 
feel  much  of  the  force  of  Japanese  competition 
as  yet,  but  given  another  ten  years,  at  the  same 
rate  of  progress,  and  how  will  our  industries  bear 
up  against  it  ? 

An  editorial  in  the  Boston  Herald,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  "  Competition  with  Asia,"  admits  the  facts 
as  to  the  stimulating  effect  of  the  silver  currency, 
and  also  the  fact  that  "to  purchase  the  ordinary 
country  supplies  an  ounce  of  silver  in  the  form  of 
coin  will  go  nearly  as  far  in  the  form  of  compen- 
sation as  it  would  when  the  same  ounce  was 
worth,  as  bullion,  nearly  twice  as  much  as  it  is  at 


28l 

the  present  time,  and  this  under  conditions  in  one 
form  or  another  of  nearly  free  coinage."  The  edi- 
tor attempts  to  explain  this  by  the  lack  of  intelli- 
gence and  scant  means  of  communication  in  those 
countries,  so  that  the  mass  of  the  people  do  not 
realize  the  depreciation  of  silver.  This  would  be 
plausible  if  it  could  be  shown  on  the  other  hand 
that  prices  of  ordinary  country  supplies  in  the 
gold-using  countries  had  not  fallen  and  the  silver 
alone  of  all  commodities  had  declined  in  value 
when  measured  in  gold.  As  this  is  not  true,  and 
as  the  fact  of  the  ruinous  decline  in  all  prices 
measured  in  gold  is  beyond  dispute,  the  proof  is 
absolute  that  the  change  in  value  is  in  the  gold 
rather  than  in  the  silver. 

Of  course,  the  Herald  yearns  for  the  wage- 
earner.  It  continues  that  if  we  brought  our  cur- 
rency to  the  Chinese  basis,  employers  would  pay 
wages  in  silver  the  equivalent  of  fifty  cents  in 
gold  for  what  they  are  now  paying  100  cents  in 
gold.  This,  it  claims,  would  be  robbing  the 
wage-earner.  This  is  another  form  of  the  old 
stock  free  trade  argument,  which  assumes  that 
employers  carry  on  business  for  the  sole  and 
only  purpose  of  paying  wages,  and  that  the 
amount  of  wages  paid  is  entirely  optional  with 
the  employer,  having  no  reference  to  profit  or  the 
selling  prices  of  the  products.  Wages  are  con- 
sidered as  fixed  and  arbitrary,  and  political  econ- 
omy is,  in  effect,  the  science  of  giving  the  cheap- 

17 


282 

est  prices  or  the  most  goods  for  the  wages.  The 
employers  are  always  despots,  who  can  be  forced 
to  sell  at  low  prices  while  paying  the  highest 
wages.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  the 
absurdity  of  such  assumptions.  A  few  weeks 
since,  for  example,  it  was  announced  that  the 
Baldwin  Straw  Plating  Works,  at  Milford,  Conn., 
had  arranged  to  ship  their  entire  machinery  to 
Japan,  as  they  were  unable  to  continue  the  com- 
petition here.  Will  this  concern  maintain  an 
office  in  Milford  and  continue  paying  wages  to 
the  old  employes  in  gold  or  not  ?  If  not,  how 
much  do  the  wage-earners  benefit  by  the  gold 
standard  ?  When  manufacturers  of  silk,  cotton, 
woolen,  iron,  leather,  boots  and  shoes  and  other 
lines,  find  it  profitable  to  follow  the  Baldwin 
example,  who  will  continue  to  pay  wages  at  100 
cents  in  gold  to  the  idle  workman  ?  Where  will 
the  gain  for  the  wage-earners  come  in  ? 

What  is  the  use  of  trying  to  keep  up  such  hum- 
bug arguments  ?  The  people  must  come  to  their 
senses  sooner  or  later.  They  must  learn  that 
employer  cannot  be  separated  from  wage-earner, 
and  that  the  latter  depends  absolutely  on  the 
prosperity  of  the  former.  Why  not  admit  the 
fact  that  the  gold  standard  and  disuse  of  silver  is 
forcing  an  unequal  and  ruinous  competition  in  all 
industries  ?  Every  gold-using  country  feels  it, 
and  the  people  cannot  always  submit  to  be  made 
slaves  of  the  money-lenders,  who  exact  their 


283 

"pound  of  flesh  nearest  the  heart."  Let  us  have 
some  fair  discussion,  instead  of  special  pleading 
by  the  interested  organ  ;  and  for  the  good  of 
common  humanity,  let  us  honestly  seek  an  honest 
remedy. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
CERNUSCHI  ON  THE  ISSUE. 

Henri  Cernuschi  was  the  famous  French  writer 
who  won  fame  as  a  champion  of  international  bi- 
metallism and  an  opponent  of  independent 
bimetallism  by  any  single  nation.  He  has  been 
frequently  quoted  by  advocates  of  the  gold 
standard  in  this  country  in  their  endeavor  to  com- 
bat the  arguments  of  the  advocates  of  "  16  to  i." 
The  following  is  one  of  the  last  of  Cernuschi's 
contributions  :  From  the  Paris  Economiste. 

"I  have  always  combated  the  uncompromising 
silver  men  of  America,  who  at  bottom  are  really 
silver  monometallists,  because  from  the  scientific 
point  of  view,  their  doctrine  is  as  fallacious  as  that 
of  the  gold  monometallists. 

"  The  adoption  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  by 
the  United  States  alone  would,  it  is  true,  increase 
to  a  formidable  extent  the  contingent  of  silver 
monometallic  countries,  but  would  not  immed- 
iately bring  about  a  true  solution  of  the  problem 
that  international  bimetallism  has  in  view — name- 
ly, the  instantaneous  fusion  of  the  two  monetary 
standards  in  a  single  international  money  by  the 
establishment  of  a  fixed  parity  of  value  between 
gold  and  silver. 

284 


285 

"With  silver  monometallism  in  the  United 
States,  the  war  to  the  knife  between  gold  and  sil- 
ver will  agitate  yet  for  many  years  the  civilized 
world,  and  you  know  as  well  as  I  do  that  the  re- 
sults of  this  struggle  will  be  disastrous  to  those 
European  countries  which  are  at  present  living 
under  a  single  gold  standard,  and  in  particular  to 
England  and  France. 

"I  have  always  been  the  adversary  of  the  out- 
and-out  silver  men  of  America,  that  is  to  say,  the 
party  which  demands  the  free  coinage  of  the  silver 
dollar  in  the  United  States  without  reference  to 
the  action  of  European  nations,  because  their  mon- 
etary conception  is  diametrically  opposed  to  mine. 
They  are  monometallists,  like  the  monometallists 
of  the  city  of  London,  and  the  triumph  of  their 
cause,  so  far  from  putting  an  end  to  the  monetary 
anarchy  in  which  the  world  has  been  writhing 
since  1873,  will  merely  accentuate  it,  in  rendering 
more  burdensome  for  Europe  the  economic  conse- 
quences of  the  diverge. 

"But  if  I  were  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  and 
were  convinced  that  Europe,  by  reason  of  Eng- 
land's attitude,  is  fixedly  hostile  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  stable  monetary  parity  between  gold 
and  silver,  obstinately  rejecting  all  ideas  of  inter- 
national bimetallic  agreement,  then  I  should  cease 
to  be  an  international  bimetallist  (which  nearly  all 
my  friends  in  the  United  States  are),  and  should  go 
over  unhesitatingly  to  the  camp  of  the  silver  men. 


"As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  its  present  economic 
situation,  the  United  States  of  America,  that  great 
and  youthful  nation,  suffers  much  more  from  the 
merciless  conflict  that  has  been  in  progress  be- 
tween gold  and  silver  since  1873  than  England — a 
very  wealthy  country,  creditor  of  the  rest  of  the 
world,  possessing  resources  of  every  kind  and 
enormous  financial  reserves,  which  enable  her  to 
endure  with  comparative  ease  the  economic  com- 
petition of  tho^e  nations  whose  monetary  standard 
is  depreciated  in  regard  to  gold,  like  the  countries 
of  the  far  east,  Mexico,  the  Argentine  Republic,  etc. 

"The  United  States  of  America,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  debtors  to  Europe  for  a  portion  of  the 
sums  which  they  have  employed  in  the  develop- 
ment of  their  industrial  system,  and  must  neces- 
sarily liquidate  their  debts  abroad  by  realizing 
upon  the  products  of  their  soil  and  of  their  manu- 
factures. 

"  Now,  as  their  foreign  debts  are,  on  the  one 
hand,  contracted  in  gold,  and  as,  on  the  other, 
American  products  in  Europe  have  to  reckon  with 
the  depressing  competition  of  similar  products 
exported  by  other  countries  having  a  silver 
standard  or  paper  money,  it  follows  that  the 
appreciation  of  gold,  in  regard  to  silver,  that 
has  taken  place  since  1873,  has  had  a  two- 
fold result  for  the  United  States — which  have 
remained  faithful  to  the  single  gold  standard  since 
that  date — namely  :  First — it  has  diminished  by 


287 

half,  on  American  territory,  the  value  in  gold  of 
all  the  national  products  which  are  subject  to  the 
said  competition;  and,  second,  it  has  doubled  the 
real  burden  of  the  debts  contracted  abroad  in 
gold,  since  double  the  quantity  of  American  prod- 
ucts is  now  required  to  discharge  the  annual  lia- 
bilities arising  from  those  debts. 

"The  native  products  of  England  have  evident- 
ly felt  the  depressing  influence  of  the  same  com- 
petition with  similar  products  from  countries 
whose  monetary  standard  has  been  depreciated 
in  regard  to  gold,  and  in  this  respect  English  agri- 
culturists and  manufacturers  are  prejudicially  af- 
fected in  the  same  way  as  the  agriculturists  and 
manufacturers  of  the  United  States.  For  this 
reason,  an  understanding  between  the  two  coun- 
tries looking  to  the  re-establishment  of  the  equi- 
librium between  the  two  monetary  standards,  and 
the  maintenance  of  a  stable  parity  of  exchange 
for  the  future,  was  logical,  reasonable  and  desir- 
able for  the  world  at  large. 

"  But,  if  the  interests  of  English  agriculturists 
and  manufacturers  are  seriously  affected  by  the 
competition  of  countries  having  a  depreciated 
monetary  standard,  the  exterior  finances  of  the 
United  Kingdom  do  not  surfer  thereby,  since 
England  has  no  debts  contracted  abroad,  and,  in 
this  respect  at  least,  the  English  escape  that  par- 
ticular evil  from  which  the  finances  of  the  United 
States  of  America  suffer  so  cruelly. 


288 

"Furthermore,  England  being  a  large  creditor 
of  foreign  countries,  the  London  bankers  can 
argue — as  Sir  William  Harcourt  did  in  so  cate- 
gorical a  manner  in  his  speech  of  March  i  yth  last 
in  the  House  of  Commons — that  the  English  capi- 
talists recover,  by  the  increasing  purchasing  power 
of  the  gold  due  them  from  abroad,  the  amount 
which,  owing  to  the  fall  in  the  gold  price  of  prod- 
ucts imported  into  England  by  debtor  countries, 
is  lost  by  the  agriculturists  and  manufacturers  of 
the  United  Kingdom. 

"  Is  that  the  case  with  the  United  States  of 
America  ?  No,  most  assuredly  not !  for  they  are 
debtors  in  gold  to  foreign  countries,  and  it  is  with 
the  proceeds  of  these  same  products,  the  gold 
prices  of  which  have  been  depreciated  by  the  com- 
petition of  silver  standard  or  paper  money  coun- 
tries, that  they  are  obliged  to  pay  their  foreign  debt. 

"Therefore,  the  present  monetary  situation  in 
the  United  States  is  doubly  unfavorable  to  the 
economic  interests  of  that  great  nation,  since, 
owing  to  the  state  of  affairs  now  obtaining,  the 
gold  standard  countries  of  Europe,  and  particu- 
larly the  manufacturing  countries  like  England, 
find  it  enormously  advantageous  to  purchase  their 
raw  materials  in  those  countries  whose  standard 
depreciated  with  regard  to  gold,  like  Asiatic  coun- 
tries, Russia  or  the  Argentine  Republic,  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  sell  their  manufactured  products 
in  the  American  market,  where  they  are  paid  for 
in  gold  currency. 


289 

"The  present  monetary  policy  of  the  United 
States  is  consequently  very  advantageous  to  the 
interests  of  England,  a  gold  monometallic  coun- 
try, but  it  is  utterly  ruinous  as  regards  the  foreign 
financial  relations  of  the  United  States,  and  es- 
pecially for  its  native  producers. 

"This  is  why,  inasmuch  as  England's  attitude 
prevents  the  realization  of  international  bimetal- 
lism and  condemns  one-half  of  the  world  to  gold 
monometallism  and  the  other  half  to  silver  mono 
metallism,  I  would  not  hesitate,  were  I  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  to  become — I,  Cernuschi, 
the  father  of  international  bimetallism,  as  I  am 
everywhere  called — a  silver  monometallism 

'•From  a  theoretical  point  of  view,  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  at  16  to  i,  re-established  by  the 
United  States  without  the  concurrence  of  Europe, 
would  be  a  vicious  solution,  but  it  would  neverthe- 
less be  a  step  in  the  direction  of  international  bi- 
metallism ;  for,  under  the  regime  of  the  new 
standard,  the  productive  power  of  the  United 
States  would  receive  so  enormous  an  impulse,  and 
this  development  would  have  such  a  disastrous 
effect  upon  the  economic  and  financial  interests  of 
England  and  the  other  European  nations  now 
governed  by  the  gold  standard,  that  it  may  be 
confidently  predicted  in  advance,  that  the  course 
of  events  would  force  the  adoption  of  international 
bimetallism  as  the  only  true  solution  even  upon 
those  who  to-day  deny  the  possibility  and  efficacy 
of  it."  HENRI  CEFLNUSCHT- 


CHAPTER   XVI. 
JOHN  M.  THURSTON  ON  MONEY. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  for  1896, 
held  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  selected  a  distin- 
guished citizen  of  Nebraska  to  preside  over  its 
deliberations.  Senator  John  M.  Thurston  needs 
no  introduction  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  as  the  permanent  chairman  of  the 
Republican  National  Convention,  his  utterances 
on  the  money  question  will  be  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary interest. 

By  way  of  preface,  and  in  exact  justice  to 
Senator  Thurston,  it  should  be  said  that  there  is  no 
record  showing  that  he  declared  explicitly  in  favor 
of  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  the 
ratio  of  16  to  i  ;  but  he  seems  to  have  regarded 
the  question  of  the  ratio  as  of  secondary  impor- 
tance, while  at  the  same  time  he  favored  restrict- 
ing the  coinage  to  the  American  product.  But 
Senator  Thurston's  utterances  on  the  money 
question,  up  to  and  including  the  very  day  of  his 
election  to  the  United  States  Senate,  were  di- 
rectly, emphatically  and  explicitly  antagonistic  to 
the  single  gold  standard. 

In  a   letter  addressed  to  Hon.  J.  Burrows,  of 

290 


291 

Lincoln,  Nebraska,  under  date  of  July,  1893,  Mr. 
Thurston  said : — 

"  I  am  a  profound  believer  in  the  use  of  both 
gold  and  silver  as  money.  I  advocated  the 
restoration  of  free  coinage  before  any  of  those 
who  are  now  the  self-selected  champions  of  silver 
in  Nebraska  had  ever  opened  their  lips  on  the 
subject.  At  the  opening  of  the  corn  palace  in 
Sioux  City,  four  years  ago,  I  said : — 

"At  the  risk  of  being  tedious,  I  ask  your  careful 
attention  to  the  presentation  of  another  grave 
question,  which,  in  my  judgment,  is  of  such 
momentous  importance  to  the  entire  West  that 
all  our  people  should  join  in  vigorous  efforts  to 
secure  its  early  and  favorable  solution. 

"We  of  the  West  must  have  cheap  money,  not 
money  intrinsically  cheap,  but  cheap  in  interest 
charges  for  its  use. 

"We  are  money  borrowers,  and  we  need  vast 
sums  with  which  to  hasten  the  development  of  our 
wonderful  resources. 

"We  have  good  security  to  give,  and  neither 
repudiation  nor  bankruptcy  is  to  be  feared. 

"But  the  amount  of  money  in  circulation  is 
becoming  inadequate  for  the  daily  commercial 
necessities  of  the  country.  It  is  almost  impossi- 
ble to-day  for  our  local  banks  to  accommodate 
their  regular  customers  at  10  per  cent.  They 
have  not  a  dollar  to  loan  on  the  best  paper  to 
anyone  else. 


292 

"In  popular  parlance,  '  money  is  scarce.' 

"The  country  grows  so  fast  that  the  demand 
increases  almost  by  multiplication. 

"An  inadequate  circulating  medium  adds  to 
the  relative  value  of  the  dollar,  and  cheapens  the 
relative  value  of  everything  else. 

"Every  debtor  must  work  harder  or  sell  more 
property  to  meet  his  obligations  than  he  other- 
wise would. 

******* 

"But  our  mountain  ranges  produce  a  metal 
which,  until  a  few  years  ago,  was  money  the  wide 
world  over.  Silver  was  one  of  the  standard  coins 
of  the  United  States  from  the  birth  of  inde- 
pendence until  its  demonetization  crept  into  the 
statutes  of  Congress,  either  by  mistake  or  fraud. 

"  I  assert  that  the  American  people,  and  es- 
pecially those  of  the  West,  demand  the  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver.  I  do  not  mean  that 
the  financial  affairs  of  the  country  should  be  car- 
ried on  by  the  actual  use  of  silver,  for  it  has  been 
demonstrated  that  the  silver  certificates  answer 
better.  Nor  am  I  certain  that  the  present  standard 
should  be  adhered  to.  But  let  us  restore  the  law 
which  made  silver  a  legal  tender  for  all  debts, 
public  and  private.  Let  us  give  the  right  to  any 
man  to  deposit  the  bullion  in  the  Treasury  and 
receive  for  it  certificates  redeemable  in  silver 
coin,  and  the  great  problem  of  an  adequate,  flex- 
ible and  stable  currency  is  solved. 


293 

"The  assertion  that  a  government  can  have 
too  much  money,  is  not  reliable.  Inflation  by 
issuance  of  irredeemable  paper  is  one  thing  ; 
expansion  by  coinage  is  another.  If  we  coin  all 
the  silver  produced  in  America,  over  and  above 
what  is  used  in  manufactures  and  the  arts,  we  will 
not  any  more  than  keep  pace  with  the  increased 
demands  of  our  business  growth.  Every  dollar 
issued  in  exchange  for  silver  bullion  will  find  its 
way  into  circulation  and  a  new  era  of  prosperity 
begin. 

"  From  time  to  time  thereafter,  before  the 
various  Republican  clubs  and  organizations  in  the 
United  States,  I  maintained  substantially  the  same 
views.  My  present  position  is  quite  fully  set 
forth  in  a  letter  addressed  by  me  to  George  Gun- 
ton,  editor  of  Social  Economist,  New  York  City, 
on  July  7,  1893,  a  copy  of  which  I  hereto  attach.'1 

On  July  7,  1893,  Mr.  Thurston  addressed  a 
letter  to  George  Gunton,  editor  of  The  Social 
Economist,  No.  34  Union  Square,  New  York  City, 
in  which  Mr.  Thurston  said  : — 

"I  have  no  doubt  the  remonetization  of  silver 
in  the  United  States  would  speedily  and  certainly 
appreciate  the  price  of  silver,  not  only  in  this 
country,  but  throughout  the  whole  world.  No 
matter  what  other  governments  do,  this  country 
ought  not  to  eliminate  silver  from  use  as  a  coin 
metal.  Any  legislation  in  that  direction  will  be 
looked  upon  by  the  common  people  as  in  the  in- 


294 

terest  of  the  money  power  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  increasing  the  purchasing  power  of  money 
and  decreasing  the  selling  price  of  everything 
produced  by  human  toil.  It  is  a  fact,  which  should 
not  be  overlooked  by  statesmen,  that  the  price  of 
American  silver  and  the  price  of  American  wheat 
reached  low  water  mark  on  the  same  day. 


"  Economists  insist  that  the  volume  of  money 
in  a  country  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  intrinsic 
value  of  the  dollar,  and  this  is  true  so  far  as  the 
intrinsic  value  of  the  coin  is  concerned,  but  the 
amount  of  money  in  circulation  in  a  country  has 
almost  everything  to  do  with  the  interest  rate  on 
money,  with  the  ability  to  borrow  money  for  use 
in  manufactures,  improvements  and  speculation. 
Since  the  recent  monetary  scare  many  branches 
of  industry  have  been  closed  to  American  work- 
men because  of  the  inability  of  the  manufacturers 
to  borrow  money  from  the  banks  as  heretofore, 
and  this,  because  a  large  part  of  the  actual  money 
in  the  country  had  been  taken  out  of  circulation 
by  the  panic.  Small  depositors  have  withdrawn 
their  money  from  the  banks,  and  the  deposit 
vaults  of  the  country  have  in  them  to-day  millions 
of  dollars  which,  three  months  ago,  were  on  de- 
posit in  our  banks.  Therefore,  the  interest  rate 
has  increased  and  it  is  difficult,  in  most  communi- 
ties, to  borrow  money  on  any  reasonable  terms, 


295 

The  result  is  stagnation  of  business,  stoppage  of 
all  kinds  of  enterprises,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
thousands  of  American  workmen  will  be  out  of 
employment. 

"The  recent  events,  instead  of  bringing  me  to 
believe  in  the  single  gold  standard,  have  had  quite 
the  opposite  result.  For  the  world  at  large  to 
abandon  the  use  of  silver  as  money  would  be  to 
greatly  enhance  the  power  of  gold;  to  greatly 
diminish  the  volume  of  money,  and  thereby  the 
borrowing  classes  and  the  producing  classes  would 
be  more  at  the  mercy  of  the  money  holders  than 
they  ever  have  been  heretofore.  The  United 
States  is  a  silver-producing  country,  and  I  do  not 
believe  it  can  afford  to  let  those  nations  not  silver 
producing  compel  it  to  abandon  silver  as  a  money. 

"It  is  better  that  we  should,  if  necessary,  buy 
gold  at  a  premium  to  settle  our  foreign  balances 
with  than  that  the  American  people  should  be  com- 
pelled to  pay  higher  prices  in  human  labor  and  in 
human  endeavor  for  a  dollar  because  of  the  adop- 
tion of  the  single  gold  standard.  I  am  an  advo- 
cate of  the  American  theory.  We  are  not  depend- 
ent either  for  manufactures  or  money  on  the  out- 
side world." 

In  an  interview  printed  in  the  Omaha  World- 
Herald  of  Monday,  June  n,  1894,  Mr.  Thurston 
said  : — 

"So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  think  I  only  disa- 


296 

gree  with  such  Republicans  as  ex- President  Har- 
rison upon  the  question  as  to  what  steps  ought 
to  be  first  instituted  to  bring  the  commercial 
world  back  to  the  use  of  both  gold  and  silver. 
He  believes  that  it  must  be  done  through  a  mon- 
etary conference  with  the  great  commercial  pow- 
ers. In  my  judgment  the  United  States  can 
safely  take  the  initiative  by  providing  for  the 
coinage  of  its  own  silver,  and  I  believe  that  such 
action  on  its  part  would,  within  a  comparatively 
short  time,  drive  the  other  great  countries  of  the 
world  to  similar  action,  and  speedily  pave  the  way 
for  a  monetary  conference,  which  would  establish 
gold  and  silver  as  the  money  of  the  world  and 
fix  the  ratio  for  generations  to  come." 

On  January  16,  1895,  Mr.  Thurston  addressed 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Nebraska  in  formal 
acknowledgment  of  his  election  to  the  United 
States  Senate.  On  that  occasion  Mr.  Thurston 
said : — 

"I  would  put  a  stop  to  the  outflow  of  gold 
from  the  treasury  ;  first,  by  requiring  that  all  im- 
port duties  should  be  paid  in  gold  at  the  option 
of  the  treasurer  of  the  United  States ;  and,  second, 
by  insisting  upon  the  right  of  redemption  in 
either  gold  or  silver,  of  outstanding  notes,  when- 
ever it  becomes  apparent  that  redemption  is 
being  demanded  for  speculative  purposes.  It  is 
said  that  such  a  policy  would  drive  gold  to  a 
premium.  In  my  judgment,  we  can  better  afford 


297 

to  have  gold  at  a  premium  than  prosperity  at  a 
discount.  ***** 

"More  money  on  hand  than  is  necessary  to 
supply  the  business  demands  may  reduce  interest 
rates,  but  the  people  can  easily  stand  that.  The 
bankers  and  the  capitalists  should  not  have 
power  to  contract  the  volume  of  currency  in 
circulation  or  corner  the  money  market  of  the 
country.  I  do  not  agree  with  those  who  would 
retire  our  greenbacks  and  treasury  notes.  I  am 
in  favor  of  keeping  every  one  of  them  in  circula- 
tion, and  there  can  be  no  danger  in  so  doing  if 
we  will  adopt  the  policy  already  stated  of  meeting 
all  speculative  demands  for  redemption  by  tender 
of  either  gold  or  silver,  at  the  option  of  the 
government,  in  accordance  with  the  specific  terms 
of  the  contract. 

"I  am  in  favor  of  American  bimetallism,  and  in 
this  the  United  States  should  lead  the  world. 

"My  position  upon  the  American  silver  question 
has  been  thoroughly  understood  by  the  people  of 
the  State,  and  I  accept  my  election  by  the  united 
vote  of  the  great  Republican  majority  in  the 
Legislature  as  an  indorsement  of  my  ante-election 
declaration  in  favor  of  coining  the  American 
product  of  gold  and  silver  into  honest  dollars. 
To  those  who  fear  the  effect  of  the  American 
silver  coinage,  I  have  this  to  say :  We  are  not 
realizing  financial  prosperty  under  existing  gold 
monometallism,  and  it  is  worth  our  while  to  try 
the  experiment  of  a  return  to  bimetallism." 

18 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
MORETON  FREWEN  ON  THE  ISSUE. 

(From  the  London  Financial  News  of  May  29, 
1896.) 

"It  may  be  well  to  notice  an  error  into  which 
many  persons  ignorant  of  the  currency  question 
have  fallen.  They  accuse  the  committee  of  de- 
siring to  rob  the  present  public  creditors  in  order 
to  make  up  for  the  injury  done  to  the  public 
debtors  in  1819.  To  such  parties  the  committee 
recommends  an  inquiry  as  to  how  far  the  present 
relations  and  obligations  of  society  are  in  accord- 
ance with  the  present  gold  coinage;  and  they  will 
find  that  what  the  committee  desires  is  to  prevent 
further  appreciation,  or  further  robbery  of  the 
debtors,  and  not  to  rob  the  public  creditor.  The 
average  of  prices  and  wages  is  still  about 
25  per  cent,  above  the  present  gold  standard. 
It  is  the  attempt  at  a  further  reduction  which 
causes  the  present  universal  embarrassment.  *  * 
*  Will  or  can  the  agricultural  and  commercial 
classes  submit  to  this  reduction  ?  And,  if  so, 
would  it  be  possible  to  collect  the  amount  of 
revenue  required  by  the  government  ?" — From  the 
memorial  of  the  Birmingham  Chamber  of  Com- 

298 


299 

merce,  addressed  to  Sir  Robert  Peel,  December 
2,  1842. 

"  To  the  Editor  of  the  News — Sir:  Your  inter- 
esting leader  of  the  2ist,  upon  the  currency  situ- 
ation in  the  United  States,  may  be  shortly  summed 
up  in  the  following  theses  :  (i)  That  no  legis- 
lation by  the  United  States,  single-handed,  can 
establish  a  parity  between  gold  and  silver ;  (2) 
That  the  free  coinage  of  silver  in  the  United  States 
involves  silver  monometallism ;  (3)  That  gold 
monometallism  is  to  be  preferred  to  silver  mono- 
metallism. Now,  in  the  opinion  of  the  silver 
party  in  the  United  States,  if  (i)  is  sound,  (2)  an 
honest  silver  currency  such  as  Germany  had 
until  1873,  and  India  until  1893,  *s  infinitely  pre- 
ferable to  (3)  an  appreciating  gold  currency, 
even  if — which  is  more  than  doubtful — that  gold 
currency  can  be  maintained  at  all.  As  a  gen- 
eral statement  of  the  financial  position  of  the 
United  States  it  may  be  said  that  she  owes 
annually  these  interest  payments:  $150,000,000 
on  loans,  $75,000,000  remittances  to  travelers  and 
absentees,  $75,000,000  to  foreign  ship-owners  :  so 
that  either  her  exports  have  to  exceed  her  imports 
by  ,£60,000,000  sterling  or  she  loses  gold,  or, 
failing  this,  she  has  to  borrow  to  pay  the  interest, 
thus  piling  higher  the  permanent  interest  charges. 

"I  venture  to  think  that  the  debts  of  this  nation 
of  70,000,000  people  are  even  larger  than  I  have 
stated  them.  The  general  condition  of  financial 


300 

strain,  and  consequent  political  unrest  in  the 
United  States  seems  to  be  not  less  than  is  now 
the  case  in  Australia,  where  the  annual  interest 
paid  abroad  by  4,000,000  people  is  known  to  be 
some  ^15,000,000  sterling.  If  we  take,  for 
example,  the  state  of  California ;  this  state  is  in 
population,  in  resources  and  climate  about  the 
peer  of  New  South  Wales.  The  annual  indebt- 
edness of  New  South  Wales  is  officially  stated  at 
,£5,000,000  sterling.  May  not  the  debt  of  Cali- 
fornia to  New  York  and  to  Europe  be  about  the 
same  ?  and,  if  so,  how  can  California  any  more 
than  New  South  Wales  permanently  sustain  the 
burden  of  a  50  per  cent,  fall  of  prices,  which  fall 
must  have  exactly  doubled  the  burden  of  her 
external  debt?  Thus  the  one  issue  in  the  United 
States — which  includes  the  other  issues,  such  as 
the  mere  color  of  her  money  and  the  fiscal 
methods  by  which  her  revenue  shall  be  collected 
— the  one  paramount  issue  is  this  :  How  can  the 
United  States  secure  a  sufficient  balance  of  ex- 
ports to  continue  solvent?  Now,  I  contend  that 
if,  as  you  admit  to  be  the  case  the  world  over,  a 
depreciating  currency  stimulates  exports  and 
contracts  imports,  then  that  portion  of  public 
opinion  in  America  which  favors  silver  rather 
than  gold  is  intelligent.  For  scheme,  and  re-ad- 
just, and  tinker  with  the  tariffs  as  you  will,  you 
cannot  make  a  silk  purse  out  of  a  sow's  ear  ;  you 
cannot  restore  the  balance  of  trade  to  the  United 


301 

States  unless  her  currency  legislation  is  such  that 
it  drags  up  the  exchanges  between  Europe  and 
Asia ;  whereas  every  further  movement,  in 
America  or  elsewhere,  toward  gold  monometal- 
lism drags  those  exchanges  down.  In  short, 
gold  monometallism  in  the  United  States  involves 
an  increased  competition  for  the  industries  of 
white  men  everywhere,  at  the  hands  of  the  yel- 
low races  of  the  orient;  and  there  is  not  a  consu- 
lar report  which  comes  to  us  from  the  far  east 
but  emphasizes  this  statement.  What,  then,  is 
the  argument  for  single-handed  free  coinage  in 
the  United  States?  It  is  this.  Either  free  coin- 
age will  establish  bimetallism  for  the  whole  world, 
or,  failing  this,  there  will  be  such  a  gold  premium 
in  New  York  as  to-day  assists  exporters  in  Rus- 
sia, in  all  Asia,  and  in  nine-tenths  of  South 
America. 

"This  gold  premium,  unlike  a  protective  tariff, 
will  stimulate  the  exports  of  the  United  States, 
while  acting,  just  as  a  protective  tariff  does,  to 
reduce  imports  ;  therefore,  either  free  coinage  will 
give  bimetallism  to  the  whole  world,  or,  failing 
this,  it  will  tend  to  secure  that  excess  of  Ameri- 
can exports  over  imports,  which  is  the  only  possi- 
ble alternative  to  further  gold  loans,  leading  to 
ultimate  insolvency.  These,  then,  are  the  argu- 
ments which  favor  a  non-appreciating,  or  even  a 
depreciating,  currency  in  the  United  States.  On 
the  other  hand,  I  do  not  see,  qua  its  economic 


302 

aspects,  what  possible  advantage  can  accrue  from 
a  gold  standard  and  a  gold  currency.  A  gold 
currency  in  America  cannot  raise — it  cannot, 
indeed,  fail  to  further  depress — the  European 
exchanges  with  800,000,000  of  Asiatic  exporters. 
It  cannot,  therefore,  fail  to  still  further  throw  the 
balance  of  trade  against  the  United  States,  unless, 
indeed,  by  further  contracting  the  American  cur- 
rency, it  forces  down  prices  there  to  such  a 
point  as  to  contract  violently  America's  import 
trades.  And  a  pretty  look-out  for  England  that ! 
In  short,  the  clamor  of  our  press  that  America 
shall  become  gold  monometallic,  seems  to  involve 
either  the  insolvency  of  our  greatest  debtor  or 
the  decline  of  our  export  trades  to  America,  or 
both. 

"  There  is  this  further  point  which  you  empha- 
size— that  if  America  copies  our  gold  standard 
'confidence  will  be  restored,'  and  we  will  lend  her 
more  money  ;  thus  aggravating  in  the  future  the 
very  disease  from  which  she  suffers.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  she  goes  to  free  coinage  we  shall, 
in  a  panic,  return  her  securities,  and  thus  sell  her 
back  her  railways  and  industrials  at  half  price, 
just  at  that  very  moment  when,  her  legislation 
having  sent  the  rupee,  the  tael,  and  the  yen  to 
nearly,  or  quite,  par,  the  export  trades  of  the 
orient  will  be  cut  into,  and  the  exports  of  the 
American  farm,  mine  and  factory  will  take  their 
place.  In  other  words,  because  of  the  inane 


303 

injunctions  of  a  portion  of  the  London  press,  our 
investors  there  will  be  so  misled  as  to  sell 
American  stocks  to  Americans  at  that  very  mo- 
ment when  in  America  prosperity  is  about  to  set 
in.  You  remark  that  I  describe  America  as  'the 
greatest  debtor  nation  on  earth/  and  you  add 
'  that  one  fact  is  conclusive  against  taking  any 
course  tending  to  lower  its  national  credit'.'  But 
would  free  silver  lower  its  credit,  even  should  it 
involve  a  gold  premium  ?  It  certainly  would  not, 
if  trade  and  agriculture  there  improved,  and  the 
railways  did  a  larger  business  at  better  rates. 
The  credit  of  a  country  is  not  determined  by  its 
currency,  but  by  its  prosperity.  Thus  India's 
credit,  the  rate  at  which  she  borrows,  has  greatly 
improved  side  by  side  with  the  depreciation  of 
her  currency.  So  also  has  Russia's.  Of  the 
Argentine  and  Brazil  it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  incontrovertible  paper  issues,  and  the  stimu- 
lus thus  afforded  their  exports  because  of  de- 
preciation, has  alone  enabled  these  countries  to 
continue  paying  the  interest  on  their  foreign 
loans.  And  what  is  lacking  in  the  United  States 
is  not  really  the  lenders'  confidence  in  the  cur- 
rency ;  it  is  rather  the  conviction  of  both  bor- 
rower and  lender  that  money  invested  in  a  farm 
or  factory  will  earn  no  profit ;  that  the  pains  and 
perils  of  a  fresh  '  resumption  '  period  are  just 
ahead  ;  and  that  while  prices  over  there  are  even 
now  depressed  below  the  point  of  possible  profit, 


304 

they  must  be  depressed  25  per  cent,  further  yet  be- 
fore imports,  under  any  tariff,  can  be  so  checked 
as  to  permit  gold  to  remain  at  home  in  the  cur- 
rency. And,  further  than  this,  let  me  ask  how, 
if  imports  are  to  be  checked  by  a  high  tariff,  is 
the  necessary  revenue  to  be  secured  for  the  Fed- 
eral Government  ?  If  then,  as  I  believe,  the 
critical  position  of  the  United  States  results  from 
the  present  conditions  of  exchange  between 
Europe  and  Asia,  and  can  only  be  remedied  by 
some  action  which  will  raise  those  exchanges, 
much  may  be  said  for  the  policy  of  free  silver, 
even  should  that  policy  involve  a  gold  premium 
in  New  York.  It  is  not  the  exporter  from  Amer- 
ica who  will  be  hurt  by  that  premium  ;  it  is  the 
exporter  to  America — in  other  words,  the  English 
manufacturer.  But  let  me  go  further  and  ask 
your  reasons  for  believing  that  the  United  States 
is  unable  to  maintain  the  parity  of  i  to  16, 
assuming,  as  we  may  assume,  that  if  the  Ameri- 
can mints  open  to  the  free  coinage  of  dollars,  we 
shall  open  mints  to  the  free  coinage  of  rupees. 
Are  there  any  scientific  grounds  for  the  convic- 
tion, so  generally  held,  that  such  a  monetary 
union  as  this  bimetallism  in  America  and  silver 
monometallism  in  India  would  fail  to  maintain 
the  world's  parity.  I  do  not  venture,  of  course, 
to  dogmatize  as  to  this  ;  but  the  problem  is  so 
interesting  and  the  experiment  by  the  United 
States — whether  next  year  or  in  1901 — is  so  ex- 


305 

tremely  probable,  that  it  is  worth  while  for  those 
who  hold  that  the  experiment  would  be  attended 
with  disaster,  to  offer  something  for  our  consider- 
ation more  convincing  than  prophecies. 

"  In  the  first  place,  then,  free  coinage  in  America 
would  bring  the  Asiatic  exchanges  promptly  to 
par — for  the  moment,  at  least — and  assuming 
that  you  are  right,  and  that  there  would  be  panic 
sales  of  American  securities  held  here,  perhaps 
^40,000,000  sterling  of  American  gold  would 
flow  into  Europe.  This  great  flood  of  gold  would 
be  likely  to  inflate  prices  here  to  some  extent,  to 
thus  increase  the  exports  from  the  United  States, 
and  also  to  reduce  the  gold  premium  at  Buenos 
Ayres  and  elsewhere,  thus  checking  exports  of 
wheat,  etc.,  which  compete  with  similar  exports 
from  America.  And,  again,  the  prodigious  rise  in 
the  exchange  with  Asia  would  expand  European 
exports  to  Asia,  and,  until  gold  prices  here  had 
risen,  would  greatly  contract  exports  from  Asia  to 
Europe.  Thus  a  double  influence  favorable  to 
the  balance  of  trade  in  the  United  States  would 
be  exerted.  The  United  States  would  export 
more  to  England  because  Asia  would  export  less, 
and  thus  America's  gold  as  well  as  her  securities, 
would  go  back  to  her.  Secondly,  because  Eng- 
land, selling  more  goods  to  Asia,  the  rupee,  the 
dollar,  and  the  yen  being  at  par,  England 
could  then  also  buy  more  produce  from  the 
United  States.  Thus,  while  free  coinage  in  the 


306 

United  States  might,  in  the  first  place,  tend  to 
displace  gold,  there  would  almost  simultaneously 
be  exerted  an  even  more  powerful  tendency  for 
gold  to  be  shipped  west  from  Europe  in  order  to 
liquidate  what  it  seems  to  me  must  be  an  im- 
mense trade  balance  in  favor  of  the  United  States. 
As  to  the  absurd  idea  one  frequently  encounters, 
that  Asia  will  dump  silver  upon  the  American 
mints  and  carry  off  gold,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
examine  this  fallacy.  It  is  for  the  objectors  to 
show  why  Asia  should  give  the  metal  which  to 
her  alone  is  money  in  order  to  buy  the  other  metal 
which  is  not  money ;  and  why  also  the  white  metal 
should  be  withdrawn  from  the  hoards  of  the  orient 
at  that  moment  when  it  appreciates,  in  order  that  it 
may  be  exchanged  for  the  yellow  metal,  which  has 
just  depreciated  almost  one-half  in  terms  of  rupees. 
"The  present  Lord  Aldenham  (then  Mr.  Hucks 
Gibbs),  in  his  evidence  before  the  currency 
commission  in  1886,  declared  that,  in  his  judg- 
ment, America  with  open  mints  could  maintain 
the  parity  without  help.  There  is  no  one  who 
has  had  a  larger  practical  experience  of  exchange 
problems  than  Mr.  Gibbs ;  there  is  no  one  whose 
opinion  is  more  entitled  to  respect.  And  since 
that  evidence  was  given  what  have  we  seen  ?  On 
a  certain  Monday  in  June,  1893,  we  saw  tne  two 
metals  at  a  parity  of  i  to  24 ;  on  the  Friday  of 
that  week  the  parity  had  become  i  to  30^.  And 
why?  Because  the  Indian  mints  had  been  closed 


to  free  coinage.  Now,  it  is  not  possible  to  argue 
seriously  that,  while  the  closing  of  the  Indian 
mints  had  thus  enormously  reduced  the  gold  price 
of  silver,  yet  the  reopening  of  those  mints  would 
have  failed  to  bring  about  a  rise ;  so  that  it  is  fair 
to  assume,  that  if  between  Monday  and  Friday 
the  ratio  fell  from  i  to  24  to  i  to  30^,  then  be- 
tween Friday  and  Tuesday,  had  the  Indian  mints 
been  reopened,  the  ratio  would  have  risen  from  i 
to  30^  to  i  to  24.  And  supposing,  further,  that 
on  the  Tuesday  the  United  States  had  accepted 
free  coinage  at  i  to  16,  is  it  inherently  improbable 
that  such  a  vast  country,  with  such  a  boundless  ex- 
porting capacity,  could  have  lifted  silver  to  58^d  ? 
"Permit  me  to  recapitulate.  The  difference 
between  open  mints  and  closed  mints  in  India  has 
been  demonstrated  by  the  experiment  of  1893  to 
be  silver  at  3O*/£d  and  silver  at  38^d,  and,  this 
having  been  ascertained,  is  it  the  folly,  is  it  the 
lunacy,  is  it  the  dishonesty  that  the  New  York 
press  so  glibly  declares  it,  if  we  venture  to  hold 
that  the  difference  between  open  mints  in  the 
United  States  and  closed  mints  in  the  United 
States,  is  the  entire  difference  between  38^  d  and 
58^d?  In  other  words,  if  India  contributes  a 
25  per  cent,  life  to  silver  by  giving  it  free  coin- 
age, why  cannot  America  contribute  a  further  50 
per  cent?  Why  cannot  she  lift  the  ratio  from  i 
to  24  to  i  to  16?  What,  permit  me  to  ask,  with 
much  respect,  is  your  view  as  to  this  ?  We  are 


aware  that  you  favor  bimetallism,  and  not  merely 
'  by  and  by  metallism.'  Either  a  monetary  union 
over  a  strictly  limited  area  will  establish  the 
parity,  or,  if  not,  then  the  whole  system  is  chi- 
merical; because  if  bimetallism  needs  to  be 
universal,  then,  also,  it  follows  that  our  opponents 
are  correct  in  declaring  that  the  system  is  imprac- 
ticable, because  the  defection  of  one  of  two  war- 
ring nations  would  serve  to  destroy  it. 

"The  new  French  Prime  Minister,  M.  Meline, 
when  pointing  to  the  rapid  spread  and  ac- 
ceptance by  experts  of  the  bimetallic  theorem, 
declared  that  what  alone  is  now  needed  is  the 
'electric  spark.'  Such  an  electric  spark  may 
very  well  prove  to  be  a  free-coinage  plank  in 
the  national  Democratic  convention,  which  met 
at  Chicago,  on  July  7th.  For  even  if  the  Repub- 
lican party  should  elect  its  president,  still  that  plank, 
unless  countered  by  a  similar  move  in  the  Repub- 
lican party,  will  certainly  secure  to  the  Democratic 
party  the  control  until  1900  of  the  all  important 
senate  ;  whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mono- 
metallist  counsels  of  Mr.  Cleveland  and  Secretary 
Carlisle,  should  they  dominate  the  party  at 
Chicago,  will  both  leave  in  that  party  the  record 
of  a  disgraceful  surrender  and  will  leave  of  that 

o 

party  for  a  generation  to  come  not  one  stone 
standing  upon  another. 

."  Such  is  the  great  exchange  crisis  which  to-day 
confronts  the  whole  world  of  trade.  Its  effects 


309 

on  international  trade,  still  dimly  perceived,  are 
probably  infinitely  greater  and  more  complicated 
than  any  of  us  at  all  appreciate.  We  have  seen, 
with  the  great  rise  in  the  gold  premium  at  Buenos 
Ayres  since  1890,  the  wheat  area  in  that  country 
increase  from  2,990,000  acres  in  1891  107,141,- 
ooo  acres  in  1895;  while  in  the  same  period  the 
wheat  exports  jumped  up  from  less  than  2,000,- 
ooo  quarters  to  nearly  8,000,000  quarters.  Here 
is  a  competition  which,  while  the  press  is  shouting 
for  '  honest  money,'  has  made  Kansas  and  Min- 
nesota not  less  desolate  than  Essex  and  Lincoln- 
shire. On  the  other  hand,  we  saw,  in  1893,  an 
artificial,  a  manipulated,  rise  in  the  exchanges 
between  India  and  the  far  east  strike  the  milling 
industries  in  Bombay  as  by  lightning;  so  that 
30,000  operatives  there  were  thrown  out  of  work 
in  a  few  weeks,  while  yarn  exports  from  Bombay 
fell  off  one-third,  and  the  government  of  India 
was  obliged  to  come  to  England  because  of  the 
exchange  disturbance  and  the  contraction  of 
exports,  exactly  as  America  has  to-day  to  come 
to  England,  because  of  the  contraction  of  her 
exports,  in  order  to  borrow  gold.  We  have  seen 
these  experiments  in  exchange ;  we  have  seen 
experts,  such  as  Mr.  Hermann  Schmidt,  exactly 
foretell,  in  evidence  before  royal  commissions, 
the  results  which  were  to  follow  from  these 
experiments  ;  and  yet  silly  people  there  are  who 
still  declare  that  steady  exchanges  with  four-fifths 


310 

of  mankind  are  immaterial,  because  '  international 
trade  is  merely  international  barter.' 

"  Let  me  only  add,  in  conclusion,  that  Europe 
and  America  are  indeed  to  be  congratulated  if, 
because  of  the  intuitions  of  the  common  people  in 
the  western  republic,  we  are  now  very  near  the 
dawn  of  better  days.  At  a  time  when  political 
leaders  the  world  over  are,  as  never  "before  in 
history,  disappointed  and  disgraced,  the  western 
nations,  unguided  and  unguarded,  groping  in  the 
dark  as  to  the  magnitude  of  the  issues  involved, 
have  come  within  an  ace  of  being  routed  and 
their  industries  decimated  by  that  exchange  crisis 
which  has  given  their  silver  money  to  our  oriental 
competitors  at  half  price.  If,  then,  we  succeed  in 
evading  the  greatest  race  danger  with  which  we 
have  ever  been  confronted,  we  shall  owe  our 
escape,  not  to  our  statesmen,  who  have  failed  us, 
but  to  the  detection  of  pseudo-liberalism,  false 
economics,  and  half-truths  (worse  than  any  lies) 
by  the  great  American  nation.  Not  without 
reason  did  Lincoln  declare  of  that  nation  :  '  You 
may  fool  some  of  them  all  the  time,  but  not  all 
of  them  all  the  time.'  'Everyone,'  said  Lincoln, 
again,  '  knows  more  than  anyone  ! '  an  utterance 
which,  no  doubt,  his  successor,  the  present  occu- 
pant of  the  White  House,  and  his  '  cuckoo '  cabi- 
net consider  frankly  blasphemous. 
"  Yours  faithfully, 

"  MORETON  FREWEN. 

"  White's  Club,  London,  May  25,  1896." 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 
THE  CHICAGO   CONVENTION. 

The  Democratic  National  Convention  for  1896, 
which  had  been  called  to  meet  in  Chicago,  July 
7th,  was  destined  by  political  conditions  to  be  the 
most  important  gathering  of  the  kind  in  recent 
years.  The  interest  in  the  financial  question  had 
grown  so  rapidly  during  Mr.  Cleveland's  second 
administration  that  it  became  the  one  topic  of 
national  consideration.  The  action  of  the  Re- 
publican National  Convention  at  St.  Louis,  in 
June,  in  declaring  for  a  single  gold  standard  gave 
an  impetus  to  the  movement  for  a  declaration  for 
free  silver  coinage  by  the  Democratic  Convention. 
The  people  had  listened  to  arguments  on  the  im- 
portant issue,  had  read  and  studied  the  question, 
and  had  discussed  it  among  themselves  until  there 
was  a  demand  by  them  that  the  issue  must  be 
fairly  and  honestly  met  at  the  polls. 

The  silver  sentiment  had  taken  a  more  aggres- 
sive form  in  the  Democratic  party  than  in  its 
formidable  competitor,  and  as  the  latter  had  gone 
on  record  for  a  gold  standard,  the  democracy  was 
looked  to  to  take  up  the  cause  of  silver.  In 
every  state  convention  held  to  select  delegates  to 
the  National  Convention,  this  one  question  was 

311 


312 

uppermost.  No  surprise  was  shown  by  the  op- 
ponents of  free  coinage  when  the  friends  of  silver 
secured  the  delegations  from  the  Western  States, 
but  when  that  sentiment  gave  evidence  of  sweep- 
ing the  Middle  and  some  of  the  Eastern  States,  there 
was  much  alarm  among  the  advocates  of  gold. 

The  Democratic  national  administration  was  for 
the  gold  standard,  and  used  its  power  to  enable 
that  sentiment  to  control  the  National  Convention. 
The  repeated  issuance  of  bonds  by  the  adminis- 
tration to  uphold  the  gold  standard,  thereby  in- 
creasing the  national  debt  to  a  startling  extent, 
aroused  the  people  to  a  sense  of  the  need  of  a 
change  in  the  financial  policy  of  the  Government. 
The  result  showed  that  this  sentiment  did  not 
exist  alone  in  the  States  which  mined  silver,  as 
had  been  so  frequently  urged  by  the  enemies  of 
free  coinage.  Bimetallism  carried  the  silver 
States,  the  Western  States,  with  but  two  excep- 
tions, the  Southern  States,  and  passed  on  into  the 
enemy's  camp,  and  carried  all  the  Middle  States 
but  two.  So  strong  did  the  movement  become 
that  it  was  conceded  weeks  before  the  National 
Convention  met  that  the  free-coinage  men  would 
control  by  a  large  majority. 

The  body  which  met  at  Chicago  was  a  delibera- 
tive one,  realizing  at  the  outset  that  it  had  an 
important  issue  to  meet,  and  that  whatever  posi- 
tion the  party  took  on  the  question,  there  would 
inevitably  be  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction, 


3*3 

followed  by  a  bolt  on  the  part  of  many  prominent 
Democrats.  It  was  composed  of  cool  and  deter- 
mined men,  who  went  there  with  a  purpose,  and 
bent  on  carrying  that  purpose  out.  They  were 
not  to  be  swayed  from  what  they  considered  their 
duty,  by  personal  friendship,  local  pride  or  political 
precedent.  They  held  that  new  conditions  had 
come  into  existence,  requiring  new  men,  new 
ideas,  and  new  methods  of  party  procedure. 
They  worked  upon  this  line,  and  the  Democratic 
national  ticket  and  platform  of  1896  are  the 
result.  The  convention  met  at  noon,  Tuesday, 
and  did  not  adjourn  till  late  the  following  Satur- 
day afternoon.  There  was  a  contest  royal  from 
the  moment  the  convention  was  originally  called 
to  order,  till  the  fall  of  the  gavel  announced  the 
dissolution. 

Mr.  Bryan  was  one  of  the  duly-elected  dele- 
gates-at-large  from  Nebraska,  but  his  seat,  and 
those  of  his  delegation,  were  contested  by  a  fac- 
tion of  the  Democratic  party  in  that  State  which 
had  bolted  from  the  regular  organization,  and 
called  themselves  "Administration  Democrats," 
favoring  a  gold  standard.  This  contest  was  acted 
upon  by  the  National  Committee  previous  to  the 
assembling  of  the  convention,  and  that  organiza- 
tion being  controlled  by  gold  standard  men,  the 
contesting  delegation  was  seated,  forcing  the  reg- 
ular delegation  to  take  seats  among  the  spectators 
in  the  convention. 

19 


3*4 

Hon.  William  F.  Harrity,  of  Pennsylvania, 
Chairman  of  the  National  Committee,  called  the 
convention  to  order  at  noon  on  Tuesday,  July  yth, 
and  after  the  usual  formalities  attending  the  open- 
ing of  such  a  meeting,  announced  that  the  Na- 
tional Committee  had  selected  Senator  David  B. 
Hill,  of  New  York,  as  temporary  chairman. 

The  silver  men,  being  in  a  majority  in  the  con- 
vention, refused  to  accept  a  single-standard  man 
as  the  temporary  presiding  officer,  even  when  he 
was  possessed  of  the  eminent  ability  and  charac- 
ter of  the  senior  senator  from  the  Empire  State, 
and  presented  as  their  choice,  Senator  John  W. 
Daniel,  of  Virginia. 

This  action  was  contrary  to  precedent  in  Dem- 
ocratic conventions,  but  this  convention  was  not  fol- 
lowing precedent.  It  was  establishing  precedent 
and  making  history  for  future  conventions.  A  dis- 
cussion was  precipitated  upon  the  phases  of  the 
question  which  continued  all  afternoon.  Upon 
roll  call,  the  silver  men  triumphed  in  their  first 
contest,  Senator  Daniel  being  chosen  to  preside 
temporarily  over  the  convention  by  a  vote  of  556, 
to  349  for  Senator  Hill. 

The  customary  committees  were  selected,  after 
which  the  first  day's  session  came  to  an  end. 

The  convention  was  slow  in  getting  to  work  on 
Wednesday,  owing  to  delay  by  committees  in 
making  their  reports.  After  a  few  hours  the 
committee  on  credentials  sent  in  a  partial  report 


recommending  the  seating  of  the  regular  delega- 
tion from  Nebraska,  of  which  Mr.  Bryan  was  a 
member,  and  this  report  was  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention without  division.  The  departing  of  the 
contesting  delegation,  and  the  coming  of  the  reg- 
ular delegation,  was  the  occasion  for  the  first 
demonstration  for  Mr.  Bryan,  who,  however,  was 
not  present  at  the  time,  being  engaged  with  the 
committee  on  resolutions  in  preparing  a  platform. 

Later,  the  committee  on  credentials  reported  in 
favor  of  seating  four  contesting  silver  delegates 
from  Michigan,  and  this  report  was  discussed 
during  the  larger  part  of  the  afternoon,  being 
eventually  adopted.  With  that,  the  work  of  this 
particular  committee  ended. 

Permanent  organization  was  then  perfected  by 
the  election  of  Senator  Stephen  M.  White,  of  Cali- 
fornia, as  permanent  chairman,  after  which  the 
convention  adjourned  till  Thursday. 

Thursday  morning  the  committee  on  resolu- 
tions reported.  Senator  J.  K.  Jones,  of  Arkan- 
sas, presented  the  majority  report,  embracing  the 
free-silver  plank,  and  Senator  D.  B.  Hill  pre- 
sented the  minority  report,  which  called  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  present  gold  standard  until 
an  international  agreement  could  be  reached  for 
the  free  coinage  of  silver. 

The  committee  had  agreed  to  set  aside  two 
hours  and  forty  minutes  for  debate  on  the  plat- 
form, one  hour  and  twenty  minutes  on  a  side- 


3i6 

Senator  B.  R.  Tillman,  of  South  Carolina,  opened 
the  discussion  for  the  silver  men,  followed  by 
Senator  Jones,  of  Arkansas.  Senator  D.  B.  Hill 
opened  for  the  gold  standard  side,  followed  by 
Senator  William  F.  Vilas,  of  Wisconsin,  and  Ex- 
Gov.  William  E.  Russell,  of  Massachusetts.  Mr. 
Bryan  closed  for  the  silver  men  and  closed  the 
debate.  The  discussion  proved  to  be  a  forensic 
contest  of  surpassing  interest  and  of  wonderful 
force.  Mr.  Bryan's  address  on  that  occasion,  and 
a  description  of  the  manner  in  which  it  was  re- 
ceived, can  be  best  given  by  republishing  the 
report  which  appeared  in  the  Chicago  Times- 
Herald  the  morning  after  the  discussion,  which 
was  as  follows : 

"The  Silver  Knight  of  the  West,"  William 
Jennings  Bryan,  of  Nebraska,  set  the  convention 
on  fire  with  a  speech,  which  was  followed  by  a 
demonstration  which  never  will  be  forgotten  by 
the  16,000  persons  who  witnessed  it  and  partici- 
pated therein. 

Up  to  this  time  the  convention  had  not  been 
dull  for  want  of  effective  oratory.  The  tearful 
and  pleading  Colonel  Fellows,  of  New  York  ;  the 
fiery  and  impulsive  Blackburn,  of  Kentucky  ;  the 
forceful  and  aggressive  Altgeld,  of  Illinois;  and 
such  famous  orators  as  Hill,  Russell,  Waller  and 
White  had  scored  their  triumphs  and  added  hew 
leaves  to  their  laurel  wreaths.  But  when  com- 
pared to  the  impassioned  orator/  of  the  "  Black 


Eagle  of  Nebraska,"  newly  named  "The  Silver 
Knight  of  the  West,"  the  efforts  were  tame. 

A  reputation  as  an  orator  may  prove  either  an 
advantage  or  a  handicap  to  its  possessor.  From 
such  a  man  the  listener  expects  much.  Woe  is  in 
store  for  such  an  orator  if  his  effort  fail  to  meet 
the  sanguine  expectations  of  the  auditor,  and  tri- 
umph is  sure  if  he  reaches  the  heralded  heights 
which  have  been  promised.  Bryan  established  a 
reputation  as  an  orator  in  the  scattered  hamlets 
on  the  Nebraska  plains  and  it  wafted  him  into 
Congress.  In  one  term  he  set  a  new  mark  for 
congressional  eloquence.  Yesterday,  he  set 
another  new  mark. 

Senator  Hill  was  given  a  storm  of  applause 
before  he  spoke  ;  Bryan,  a  cyclone  of  enthusiasm 
when  he  had  concluded.  When  quiet  had  been 
restored  by  the  chairman,  Mr.  Bryan  then  ad- 
dressed the  convention. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SPEECH  DELIVERED  BY 

HON.  WILLIAM  J.  BRYAN 

OF    NEBRASKA 

BEFORE   THE    DEMOCRATIC    NATIONAL   CONVENTION 
JULY  9,    I896 


'Mr.  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 
"  I  would  be  presumptuous,  indeed,  to  pre- 
went  myself  against  the  distinguished  gentlemen 
to  whom  you  have  listened  if  this  was  a  mere 
measuring  of  abilities  ;  but  this  is  not  a  contest 
between  persons.  The  humblest  citizen  in  all  the 
land,  when  clad  in  the  armor  of  a  righteous  cause, 
is  stronger  than  all  the  hosts  of  error.  I  come  to 
speak  to  you  in  defense  of  a  cause  as  holy  as  the 
cause  of  liberty — the  cause  of  humanity. 

"When  this  debate  is  concluded  a  motion  will 
be  made  to  lay  upon  the  table  the  resolution 
offered  in  commendation  of  the  administration  and 
also  the  resolution  offered  in  condemnation  of  the 
administration.  We  object  to  bringing  this  ques- 
tion down  to  the  level  of  persons.  The  individ- 
ual is  but  an  atom ;  he  is  born,  he  acts,  he  dies  ; 

318 


but  principles  are  eternal ;  and  this  has  been  a 
contest  over  a  principle. 

11  Never  before  in  the  history  of  this  country 
has  there  been  witnessed  such  a  contest  as  that 
through  which  we  have  just  passed.  Never  be- 
fore in  the  history  of  American  politics  has  a 
great  issue  been  fought  out,  as  this  issue  has 
been,  by  the  voters  of  a  great  party.  On  the 
fourth  of  March,  1895,  a  f£W  Democrats,  most  of 
them  members  of  Congress,  issued  an  address  to 
the  Democrats  of  the  nation,  asserting  that  the 
money  question  was  the  paramount  issue  of  the 
hour;  declaring  that  a  majority  of  the  Democratic 
party  had  the  right  to  control  the  action  of  the 
party  on  this  paramount  issue  ;  and  concluding 
with  the  request  that  the  believers  in  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  in  the  Democratic  party  should 
organize,  take  charge  of,  and  control  the  policy  of 
the  Democratic  party.  Three  months  later,  at 
Memphis,  an  organization  was  perfected,  and  the 
silver  Democrats  went  forth  openly,  courageously 
proclaiming  their  belief,  and  declaring  that, 
if  successful,  they  would  crystallize  into  a  plat- 
form the  declaration  which  they  had  made.  Then 
began  the  conflict.  With  a  zeal  approaching  the 
zeal  which  inspired  the  crusaders  who  followed 
Peter  the  Hermit,  our  silver  Democrats  went 
forth  from  victory  unto  victory  until  they  are  now 
assembled,  not  to  discuss,  not  to  debate,  but  to 
enter  up  the  judgment  already  rendered  by  the 


320 

plain  people  of  this  country.  In  this  contest 
brother  has  been  arrayed  against  brother,  father 
against  son.  The  warmest  ties  of  love,  acquaint- 
ance and  association  have  been  disregarded  ;  old 
leaders  have  been  cast  aside  when  they  have  re- 
fused to  give  expression  to  the  sentiments  of 
those  whom  they  would  lead,  and  new  leaders 
have  sprung  up  to  give  direction  to  this  cause  of 
truth.  Thus  has  the  contest  been  waged,  and  we 
have  assembled  here  under  as  binding  and  solemn 
instructions  as  were  ever  imposed  upon  represen- 
tatives of  the  people. 

"We  do  not  come  as  individuals.  As  indi- 
viduals we  might  have  been  glad  to  compliment 
the  gentleman  from  New  York  (Senator  Hill), 
but  we  know  that  the  people  for  whom  we  speak 
would  never  be  willing  to  put  him  in  a  position 
where  he  could  thwart  the  will  of  the  Democratic 
party.  I  say  it  was  not  a  question  of  persons  ;  it 
was  a  question  of  principle,  and  it  is  not  with 
gladness,  my  friends,  that  we  find  ourselves 
brought  into  conflict  with  those  that  are  now 
arrayed  on  the  other  side. 

"The  gentleman  who  preceded  me  (ex-Govern- 
or Russell)  spoke  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  ; 
let  me  assure  him  that  not  one  present  in  all  this 
convention  entertains  the  least  hostility  to  the 
people  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  but  we 
stand  here  representing  people  who  are  the  equals 
before  the  law  of  the  greatest  citizens  of  the 


321 

State  ot  Massachusetts.  When  you  (turning  to 
the  gold  delegates)  come  before  us  and  tell  us 
that  we  are  about  to  disturb  your  business  in- 
terests, we  reply  that  you  have  disturbed  our 
business  interests  by  your  course. 

' '  We  say  to  you  that  you  have  made  the  defi- 
nition of  a  business  man  too  limited  in  its  appli- 
cation. The  man  who  is  employed  for  wages  is 
as  much  a  business  man  as  his  employer  ;  the 
attorney  in  a  country  town  is  as  much  a  business 
man  as  the  corporation  counsel  in  a  great  metrop- 
olis ;  the  merchant  at  the  cross-roads  store  is  as 
much  a  business  man  as  the  merchant  of  New 
York ;  the  farmer  who  goes  forth  in  the  morning 
and  toils  all  day — who  begins  in  the  spring  and 
toils  all  summer — and  who  by  the  application  of 
brain  and  muscle  to  the  natural  resources  of  the 
country  creates  wealth,  is  as  much  a  business  man 
as  the  man  who  goes  upon  the  board  of  trade  and 
bets  upon  the  price  of  grain  ;  the  miners  who  go 
down  a  thousand  feet  into  the  earth,  or  climb  two 
thousand  feet  upon  the  cliffs,  and  bring  forth  from 
their  hiding  places  the  precious  metals  to  be  poured 
into  the  channels  of  trade  are  as  much  business 
men  as  the  few  financial  magnates  who,  in  a 
back  room,  corner  the  money  of  the  world.  We 
come  to  speak  for  this  broader  class  of  business 
men. 

"  Ah,  my  friends,  we  say  not  one  word  against 
those  who  live  upon  the  Atlantic  Coast,  but  the 


322 

hardy  pioneers  who  have  braved  all  the  dangers 
of  the  wilderness,  who  have  made  the  desert  to 
blossom  as  the  rose — the  pioneers  away  out  there 
(pointing  to  the  West),  who  rear  their  children 
near  to  Nature's  heart,  where  they  can  mingle 
their  voices  with  the  voices  of  the  birds — out 
there  where  they  have  erected  school-houses  for 
the  education  of  their  young,  churches  where 
they  praise  their  Creator,  and  cemeteries  where 
rest  the  ashes  of  their  dead — these  people,  we 
say,  are  as  deserving  of  the  consideration  of  our 
party,  as  any  people  in  this  country.  It  is  for 
these  that  we  speak.  We  do  not  come  as  aggres- 
sors. Our  war  is  not  a  war  of  conquest ;  we 
are  fighting  in  the  defense  of  our  homes,  our  fam- 
ilies and  posterity.  We  have  petitioned,  and  our 
petitions  have  been  scorned  ;  we  have  entreated, 
and  our  entreaties  have  been  disregarded ;  we 
have  begged,  and  they  have  mocked  when  our 
calamity  came.  We  beg  no  longer ;  we  entreat 
no  more  ;  we  petition  no  more.  We  defy  them. 

"The  gentleman  from  Wisconsin  has  said  that 
he  fears  a  Robespierre.  My  friends,  in  this  land 
of  the  free,  you  need  not  fear  that  a  tyrant  will 
spring  up  from  among  the  people.  What  we 
need  is  an  Andrew  Jackson  to  stand,  as  Jackson 
stood,  against  the  encroachments  of  organized 
wealth. 

"They  tell  us  that  this  platform  was  made  to 
catch  votes.  We  reply  to  them,  that  changing 


323 

conditions  make  new  issues  ;  that  the  principles 
upon  which  Democracy  rests,  are  as  everlasting 
as  the  hills,  but  that  they  must  be  applied  to  new 
conditions  as  they  arise.  Conditions  have  arisen, 
and  we  are  here  to  meet  those  conditions.  They 
tell  us  that  the  income  tax  ought  not  to  be  brought 
in  here  ;  that  it  is  a  new  idea.  They  criticise  us 
for  our  criticism  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  My  friends,  we  have  not  criti- 
cised ;  we  have  simply  called  attention  to  what 
you  already  know.  If  you  want  criticisms,  read 
the  dissenting  opinions  of  the  court.  There  you 
will  find  criticisms.  They  say  that  we  passed  an 
unconstitutional  law ;  we  deny  it.  The  income 
tax  law  was  not  unconstitutional  when  it  was 
passed  ;  it  was  not  unconstitutional  when  it  went 
before  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  first  time ;  it 
did  not  become  unconstitutional,  until  one  of  the 
judges  changed  his  mind,  and  we  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  know  when  a  judge  will  change  his 
mind.  The  income  tax  is  just.  It  simply  intends 
to  put  the  burdens  of  government  justly  upon  the 
backs  of  the  people.  I  am  in  favor  of  an  income 
tax.  When  I  find  a  man  who  is  not  willing  to 
bear  his  share  of  the  burdens  of  the  government 
which  protects  him,  I  find  a  man  who  is  unworthy 
to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  government  like 
ours. 

"They  say  that  we  are  opposing  national  bank 
currency;    it  is   true.     If   you   will    read    what 


324 

Thomas  Benton  said,  you  will  find  he  said  that, 
in  searching  history,  he  could  find  but  one  parallel 
to  Andrew  Jackson  ;  that  was  Cicero  who  de- 
stroyed the  conspiracy  of  Cataline  and  saved 
Rome.  Benton  said  that  Cicero  only  did  for 
Rome  what  Jackson  did  for  us  when  he  destroyed 
the  bank  conspiracy  and  saved  America.  We  say 
in  our  platform  that  we  believe  that  the  right  to 
coin  and  issue  money  is  a  function  of  government. 
We  believe  it.  We  believe  that  it  is  a  part  of 
sovereignty,  and  can  no  more  with  safety  be  del- 
egated to  private  individuals  than  we  could  afford 
to  delegate  to  private  individuals  the  power  to 
make  penal  statutes  or  levy  taxes.  Mr.  Jefferson, 
who  was  once  regarded  as  good  Democratic  au- 
thority, seems  to  have  differed  in  opinion  from  the 
gentleman  who  has  addressed  us  on  the  part  of 
the  minority.  Those  who  are  opposed  to  this 
proposition  tell  us  that  the  issue  of  paper  money 
is  a  function  of  the  bank,  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment ought  to  go  out  of  the  banking  business. 
I  stand  with  Jefferson  rather  than  with  them,  and 
tell  them,  as  he  did,  that  the  issue  of  money  is  a 
function  of  government,  and  that  the  banks  ought 
to  go  out  of  the  governing  business. 

"  They  complain  about  the  plank  which  declares 
against  life  tenure  in  office.  They  have  tried  to 
strain  it  to  mean  that  which  it  does  not  mean. 
What  we  oppose  by  that  plank  is  the  life  tenure 
which  is  being  built  up  in  Washington,  and  which 


325 

excludes  from  participation  in  official  benefits  the 
humbler  members  of  society. 

"  Let  me  call  your  attention  to  two  or  three 
important  things.  The  gentleman  from  New  York 
says  that  he  will  propose  an  amendment  to  the 
platform,  providing  that  the  proposed  change  in 
our  monetary  system  shall  not  effect  contracts  al- 
ready made.  Let  me  remind  you  that  there  is  no 
intention  of  affecting  those  contracts  which  ac- 
cording to  present  laws  are  made  payable  in  gold 
but  if  he  means  to  say  that  we  cannot  change  our 
monetary  system  without  protecting  those  who 
have  loaned  money  before  the  change  was  made, 
I  desire  to  ask  him  where,  in  law  or  in  morals,  he 
can  find  justification  for  not  protecting  the  debtors 
when  the  act  of  1873  was  passed,  if  he  now  in- 
sists that  we  must  protect  the  creditors. 

"He  says  he  will  also  propose  an  amendment 
which  will  provide  for  the  suspension  of  free  coin- 
age if  we  fail  to  maintain  the  parity  within  a  year. 
We  reply  that  when  we  advocate  a  policy  which  we 
believe  will  be  successful,  we  are  not  compelled 
to  raise  a  doubt  as  to  our  own  sincerity  by  sug- 
gesting what  we  shall  do  if  we  fail.  I  ask  him,  if 
he  would  apply  his  logic  to  us,  why  he  does  not 
apply  it  to  himself.  He  says  he  wants  this  country 
to  try  to  secure  an  international  agreement.  Why 
does  he  not  tell  us  what  he  is  going  to  do  if  he 
fails  to  secure  an  international  agreement  ?  There 
is  more  reason  for  him  to  do  that  than  there  is 


326 

for  us  to  provide  against  the  failure  to  maintain 
the  parity.  Our  opponents  have  tried  for  twenty 
years  to  secure  an  international  agreement,  and 
those  are  waiting  for  it  most  patiently  who  do  not 
want  it  at  all. 

"And  now,  my  friends,  let  me  come  to  the  par- 
amount issue.  If  they  ask  us  why  it  is  that  we 
say  more  on  the  money  question  than  we  say  upon 
the  tariff  question,  I  reply  that,  if  protection  has 
slain  its  thousands,  the  gold  standard  has  slain  its 
tens  of  thousands.  If  they  ask  us  why  we  do  not 
embody  in  our  platform  all  the  things  that  we  be- 
lieve in,  we  reply,  that  when  we  have  restored  the 
money  of  the  constitution,  all  other  necessary  re- 
forms will  be  possible  ;  but,  that  until  this  is  done, 
there  is  no  other  reform  that  can  be  accomplished. 

"Why  is  it,  that  within  three  months,  such  a 
change  has  come  over  the  country?  Three 
months  ago,  when  it  was  confidently  asserted 
that  those  who  bdieve  in  the  gold  standard  would 
frame  our  platform  and  nominate  our  candidates, 
even  the  advocates  of  the  gold  standard  did  not 
think  that  we  could  elect  a  president.  And  they 
had  good  reason  for  their  doubt,  because  there  is 
scarcely  a  State  here  to-day,  asking  for  the  gold 
standard,  which  is  not  in  the  absolute  control  of 
the  Republican  party.  But  note  the  change. 
Mr.  McKinley  was  nominated  at  St.  Louis,  upon 
a  platform  which  declared  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  gold  standard,  until  it  can  be  changed  into  bi- 


327 

metallism  by  international  agreement.  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley  was  the  most  popular  man  among  the 
Republicans,  and  three  months  ago,  everybody 
in  the  Republican  party  prophesied  his  election. 
How  is  it  to-day?  Why,  the  man  who  was  once 
pleased  to  think  that  he  looked  like  Napoleon — 
that  man  shudders  to-day,  when  he  remembers 
that  he  was  nominated  on  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Waterloo.  Not  only  that,  but  as  he 
listens,  he  can  hear  with  ever-increasing  distinct- 
ness, the  sound  of  the  waves  as  they  beat  upon 
the  lonely  shores  of  St.  Helena. 

"  Why  this  change?  Ah,  my  friends,  is  not  the 
reason  for  the  change  evident  to  any  one  who 
will  look  at  the  matter?  No  private  character, 
however  pure,  no  personal  popularity,  however 
great,  can  protect  from  the  avenging  wrath  of  an 
indignant  people,  a  man  who  will  declare  that  he 
is  in  favor  of  fastening  the  gold  standard  upon 
this  country,  or  who  is  willing  to  surrender  the 
right  of  self-government,  and  place  the  legislative 
control  of  our  affairs  in  the  hands  of  foreign 
potentates  and  powers. 

"  We  go  forth  confident  that  we  shall  win. 
Why?  Because  upon  the  paramount  issue  of 
this  campaign  there  is  not  a  spot  of  ground  upon 
which  the  enemy  will  dare  to  challenge  battle.  If 
they  tell  us  that  the  gold  standard  is  a  good  thing, 
we  shall  point  to  their  platform  and  tell  them  that 
their  platform  pledges  the  party  to  get  rid  of  the 


328 

gold  standard  and  substitute  bimetallism.  If  the 
gold  standard  is  a  good  thing,  why  try  to  get  rid 
of  it  ?  I  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  some 
of  the  very  people  who  are  in  this  convention  to- 
day, and  who  tell  us  that  we  ought  to  declare  in 
favor  of  international  bimetallism — thereby  declar- 
ing that  the  gold  standard  is  wrong  and  that  the 
principle  of  bimetallism  is  better — these  very 
people,  four  months  ago,  were  open  and  avowed 
advocates  of  the  gold  standard,  and  were  then 
telling  us  that  we  could  not  legislate  two  metals 
together,  even  with  the  aid  of  all  the  world.  If 
the  gold  standard  is  a  good  thing,  we  ought  to 
declare  in  favor  of  its  retention,  and  not  in  favor 
of  abandoning  it ;  and  if  the  gold  standard  is  a 
bad  thing,  why  should  we  wait  until  other  nations 
are  willing  to  help  us  to  let  go  ?  Here  is  the  line 
of  battle,  and  we  care  not  upon  which  issue  they 
force  the  fight ;  we  are  prepared  to  meet  them 
on  either  issue  or  on  both.  If  they  tell  us  that 
the  gold  standard  is  the  standard  of  civilization, 
we  reply  to  them  that  this,  the  most  enlightened 
of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  has  never  declared 
for  a  gold  standard,  and  that  both  the  great  par- 
ties this  year  are  declaring  against  it.  If  the  gold 
standard  is  the  standard  of  civilization,  why,  my 
friends,  should  we  not  have  it?  If  they  come  to 
meet  us  on  that  issue,  we  can  present  the  history 
of  our  nation.  More  than  that ;  we  can  tell  them 
that  they  will  search  the  pages  of  history  in  vain 


329 

to  find  a  single  instance  where  the  common  peo- 
ple of  any  land  have  ever  declared  themselves  in 
favor  of  the  gold  standard.  They  can  find  where 
the  holders  of  fixed  investments  have  declared 
for  a  gold  standard,  but  not  where  the  masses 
have. 

"Mr.  Carlisle  said,  in  1878,  that  this  was  a 
struggle  between  '  the  idle  holders  of  idle  capital ' 
and  'the  struggling  masses,  who  produce  the 
wealth  and  pay  the  taxes  of  the  country,'  and, 
my  friends,  the  question  we  are  to  decide  is : 
Upon  which  side  will  the  Democratic  party  fight : 
upon  the  side  of  the  'idle  holders  of  idle  capital/ 
or  upon  the  side  of  '  the  struggling  masses  ? ' 
That  is  the  question  which  the  party  must  answer 
first,  and  then  it  must  be  answered  by  each  in- 
dividual hereafter.  The  sympathies  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  as  shown  by  the  platform,  are  on 
the  side  of  the  struggling  masses  who  have  ever 
been  the  foundation  of  the  Democratic  party. 
There  are  two  ideas  of  government.  There  are 
those  who  believe  that,  if  you  will  only  legislate 
to  make  the  well-to-do  prosperous,  their  pros- 
perity will  leak  through  on  those  below.  The 
Democratic  idea,  however,  has  been  that  if  you 
legislate  to  make  the  masses  prosperous,  their 
prosperity  will  find  its  way  up  through  every 
class  which  rests  upon  them. 

"  You  come  to  us  and  tell  us  that  the  great  cit- 
ies are  in  favor  of  the  gold  standard ;  we  reply 
20 


330 

that  the  great  cities  rest  upon  our  broad  and  fer- 
tile prairies.  Burn  down  your  cities  and  leave 
our  farms  and  your  cities  will  spring  up  again  as 
if  by  magic;  but  destroy  our  farms  and  the  grass 
will  grow  in  the  streets  of  every  city  in  the 
country. 

"My  friends,  we  declare  that  this  nation  is  able 
to  legislate  for  its  own  people  on  every  question, 
without  waiting  for  the  aid  or  consent  of  any  other 
nation  on  earth  ;  and  upon  that  issue  we  expect 
to  carry  every  State  in  the  Union.  I  shall  not 
slander  the  inhabitants  of  the  fair  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts nor  the  inhabitants  of  the  State  of  New 
York  by  saying  that,  when  they  are  confronted  with 
the  proposition,  they  will  declare  that  this  nation  is 
not  able  to  attend  to  its  own  business.  It  is  the 
issue  of  1776  over  again.  Our  ancestors,  when 
but  three  millions  in  number,  had  the  courage  to 
declare  their  political  independence  of  every  other 
nation ;  shall  we,  their  descendants,  when  we  have 
grown  to  seventy  millions,  declare  that  we  are 
less  independent  than  our  forefathers  ?  No,  my 
friends,  that  will  never  be  the  verdict  of  our 
people.  Therefore,  we  care  not  upon  what  lines 
the  battle  is  fought.  If  they  say  bimetallism  is 
good,  but  that  we  cannot  have  it  until  other  na- 
tions help  us,  we  reply  that,  instead  of  having  a 
gold  standard  because  England  has,  we  will  re- 
store bimetallism  and  then  let  England  have 
bimetallism  because  the  United  States  has  it.  If 


they  dare  to  come  out  in  the  open  field  and  de- 
fend the  gold  standard  as  a  good  thing,  we  will 
fight  them  to  the  uttermost.  Having  behind  us 
the  producing  masses  of  this  nation  and  the 
world,  supported  by  the  commercial  interests,  the 
laboring  interests  and  the  toilers  everywhere,  we 
will  answer  their  demand  for  a  gold  standard  by 
saying  to  them :  '  You  shall  not  press  down  upon 
the  brow  of  labor  this  crown  of  thorns ;  you  shall 
not  crucify  mankind  upon  a  cross  of  gold.' ' 


CHAPTER  XX. 
CONVENTION— CONTINUED. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  speech  there  was  a 
demonstration,  the  like  of  which  had  never  been 
seen  in  a  convention,  and  which  is  also  best  de- 
scribed by  again  calling  upon  the  Chicago  Times- 
Herald,  that  paper  reporting  the  scene  in  this 
language : 

"Nebraska  was  the  central  star  around  which 
all  other  silver  delegations  clustered,  in  the  midst 
of  the  popular  demonstration  to  the  orator  from 
the  Platte  Country.  Chairman  Smyth,  of  the 
Nebraska  delegation,  grasped  the  hand  of  Bryan 
when  he  returned  from  the  stage,  pale  with  victory 
and  excitement.  In  another  instant  Smyth  was 
on  his  chair  waving  the  blue  Nebraska  standard 
with  an  energy  born  of  ecstasy.  The  members  of 
the  Nebraska  delegation  pulled  red  bandannas 
from  their  pockets  and  waved  them  enthusiasti- 
cally. The  sight  of  the  emblem  of  'the  old 
Roman '  used  in  former  campaigns,  awakened  the 
Ohio  delegation  across  the  aisle. 

"  Bush,  of  Georgia,  bewhiskered  and  strong  of 
lung,  ran  down  the  aisle  with  the  Georgia  stand- 
ard toward  the  Nebraska  chairs.  A  wild  yell 
from  the  rear  of  the  hall  disclosed  Joe  Lacy,  the 


333 

dark-skinned  Cherokee  delegate  from  the  Indian 
Territory  corner,  causing  a  panic  in  the  New 
York  delegation,  through  whose  ranks  this  Indian 
plunged  at  breakneck  speed  with  the  territory 
standard,  in  an  attempt  to  beat  the  Georgian  to 
Bryan's  side.  Like  a  Tammany  brave,  this  child 
of  the  southwest,  walked  all  over  dignity  and  feet 
of  the  passive  New  Yorkers,  and  reached  the 
Nebraska  section  second. 

"  Then  came  the  colors  of  Illinois,  South  Dakota, 
Missouri,  Virginia,  Alabama,  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Iowa,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Michigan,  Utah, 
Nevada,  Colorado  and  others  in  quick  sequence. 

"Standing  on  chairs  and  yelling  at  the  full 
capacity  of  lung  power,  the  men  who  held  the 
delegation  standards  reached  as  high  as  possible 
in  their  effort  to  reach  the  roof  of  the  building.  Bo 
Sweeney,  of  Colorado,  six  feet  three  inches  from 
head  to  heel,  shoved  his  long  arm  up  near  the 
rafters,  while  Hugh  Brady  pushed  the  colors  of 
Missouri  against  those  of  Nebraska,  to  kiss  the 
emblem  of  the  new  conqueror.  Then  Alabama 
led  a  grand  march  of  glory  around  the  delegates' 
pit.  It  was  a  parade  of  silver  States  fencing  in 
the  Bryan  boom,  and  framing  the  hopes  of  the 
young  Nebraskan  with  the  shadows  of  coming 
events. 

"Bryan  was  carried  off  his  feet  in  the  rush. 
The  air  in  his  vicinity  was  a  kaleidoscope  of  big 
hands,  all  eager  to  congratulate  him.  Some  felt 


334 

honored  to  touch  the  hem  of  his  alpaca  coat. 
They  surged  and  jostled  him  into  the  North 
Dakota  delegation,  three  rows  from  his  seat. 
Eight  brawny  men,  including  Buck  Hinrichsen,  of 
Illinois;  Oldham,  of  Nebraska,  and  McLaurin,  of 
Mississippi,  grasped  him  and  lifted  him  upon  their 
shoulders.  Bryan  was  physically  a  heavy  load. 
It  was  like  lifting  an  ice  wagon,  or  a  Graceo- 
Roman  wrestling  match  with  an  upright  piano  in 
a  moving  van. 

"  On  the  shoulders  of  his  admirers  Bryan  en- 
deavored to  fold  his  arms  and  look  pleasant,  but 
his  bulk  caused  the  support  beneath  him  to 
shake,  and  he  grabbed  the  shoulders  of  his  sup- 
porters in  much  the  same  manner  as  a  passenger 
seizes  the  last  strap  on  an  '  L '  train  at  the 
Sixty- third  street  curve. 

"At  his  own  request  they  lowered  him  to  the 
floor.  In  an  instant  the  Nebraskan  was  the  cen- 
ter of  a  stampede.  The  delegates  swarmed 
around  him  and  blockaded  every  inch  of  space. 
They  sat  on  his  lap,  hugged  him  until  his  collar 
wilted,  shook  his  hand,  shouted  into  his  ears, 
danced  all  over  his  feet  and  hemmed  him  in  un- 
til he  could  scarcely  get  his  breath. 

"Virginia  came  to  him  and  announced  that  the 
old  dominion  delegation  would  vote  for  him  and 
desert  Bland.  Then  came  Georgia,  Mississippi, 
and  other  States.  News  came  from  the  Ohio 
boys  that  McLean  had  released  them  to  vote  for 


335 

whom  they  pleased.  Before  adjournment,  twenty 
Bryan  votes  had  materialized  in  Ohio. 

"With  face  flushed  with  excitement  into  a 
deeper,  darker  red,  the  giant  of  the  Georgia 
delegation  returned  to  his  seat,  after  planting  the 
standard  of  the  Southern  States  in  its  old  place. 
His  chest  was  extended  with  pride  and  his  eyes 
shone  with  pleased  delight.  He  had  reason  to 
be  proud.  It  was  he,  Dr.  E.  B.  Bush,  who  had 
led  the  demonstration  of  States.  It  was  he  who 
had  carried  the  Georgia  standard  to  the  Nebraska 
fold  and  planted  it  among  the  Bryan  delegates  as 
a  token  of  the  enthusiasm  and  admiration  of  the 
Southern  men  for  the  silver  orator.  It  was  his 
example  that  brought  the  standards  of  the  other 
silver  States  around  Mr.  Bryan  in  a  wild  wave  of 
delight,  such  as  had  not  often  before  been  wit- 
nessed at  a  National  Convention. 

"Carried  away  by  his  own  delirious  enthusiasm 
for  the  orator  and  the  excitement  of  the  moment, 
his  giant  form  leaped  into  the  arena  of  victorious 
applause,  and  he  brought  with  him  a  rushing, shout- 
ing, cheering  mob  of  standard-bearers.  As  the 
leader  of  the  standard-bearers,  Dr.  Bush  leaped 
into  fame  in  the  few  bounds  needed  to  carry  him 
to  the  Nebraska  delegation.  A  moment  before 
he  had  been  simply  the  distinct  delegate  from 
Miller  County,  Georgia. 

"  'When  I  am  not  here,'  he  said,  'I  am  in  the 
Georgia  penitentiary.' 


336 

"This  did  not  mean  that  he  had  laid  aside  the 
stripes  and  hard  labor  and  donned  the  badge  of 
a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  National  Conven- 
tion. Dr.  Bush  is  the  chief  physician  of  the 
Georgia  penitentiary,  and  only  leaves  his  duties 
when  the  National  Convention  opens.  He  little 
thought  he  would  become  the  leader  this  year  of 
an  extraordinary  demonstration  over  the  oratori- 
cal effort  of  William  J.  Bryan. 

"  Then  the  Georgia  delegates  began  to  send 
telegrams  to  their  friends  in  the  South,  which 
read :  *  Bryan  will  be  nominated.  He  is  the 
best  man.'  And  this  was  the  sentiment  of  the 
Georgia  delegation  after  hearing  the  Nebraska 
man's  speech.  The  Georgians  said  they  were 
ready  to  throw  the  mantle  of  charity  over  New 
York,  and  to  entreat  it  to  return  to  the  fold. 

"  The  feeling  that  Bryan  would  be  nominated  on 
the  second  or  third  ballot  was  general  among  the 
delegates  of  those  States,  the  standards  of  which 
had  been  planted  in  front  of  the  Nebraska  orator, 
with  the  exception  of  those  who  were  pledged  to 
favorite  sons.  The  latter  considered  the  demon- 
stration only  one  of  appreciation  and  pleasure  at 
the  eloquent  speech  of  Mr.  Bryan. 

"  Maine  did  not  pluck  its  standard  from  its  rest, 
but  a  feeling  grew  among  the  delegates  that  Mr. 
Bryan  was  the  only  silver  man  they  would  care  to 
vote  for.  And  then  some  of  them  said  they  would 
cast  their  ballots  for  him  any  way. 


337 

"Ollie  M.  James,  chairman  of  the  Kentucky  dele- 
gation, was  another  man  who  shared  somewhat  in 
the  honors  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  Dr.  Bush. 
After  shouting  himself  hoarse  in  the  waving  of 
the  standards  in  the  Nebraska  fold  he  led  the 
march  down  the  aisles  and  round  the  floor  of  the 
convention  hall.  It  was  meant  only  as  a  compli- 
ment to  Mr.  Bryan  on  his  eloquent  and  masterly 
argument  for  free  silver,  he  said,  but  he  also 
thought  the  Nebraska  man  would  be  a  dangerous 
rival  for  the  other  presidential  candidates. 

"Mississippi  was  not  far  from  the  Nebraska  fold, 
but  it  was  not  until  the  giant  of  Georgia  had 
leaped  to  the  front  that  R.  H.  Henry  clambered 
over  his  fellow-delegates  and  seized  the  standard. 
'The  demonstration  was  simply  one  of  earnest 
admiration  for  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Bryan,'  said 
Governor  McLaurin,  'and  I  do  not  think  it  means 
his  nomination  as  President.' 

"  But  some  of  the  other  Mississippi  delegates 
were  looking  favorably  on  the  Nebraska  man  as 
the  solution  of  the  difficulty  caused  by  the  multi- 
tude of  favorite  sons. 

"  Michigan  delegates — the  silver  men,  not  the 
four  gold  delegates-at-large — were  to  the  front 
in  the  demonstration.  George  P.  Hummer,  the 
silver  man  from  Michigan  who  led  the  fight  before 
the  national  committee  in  favor  of  seating  the 
silver  men,  carried  the  standard  to  Nebraska. 
And  he  was  ready  to  vote  for  Bryan  if  the  latter' s 


name  came  up  for  nomination.  And  so  all  the 
Michigan  delegates  talked,  with  the  exception  of 
the  gold  men. 

"  Missouri  was  not  backward  in  applauding 
Bryan,  and  it  sent  J.  D.  Gibson  to  join  the  pro- 
cession of  the  standards. 

"The  Boies  men  from  Iowa  were  caught  in  the 
swirl  of  enthusiasm  and  joined  the  procession. 

"  J.  C.  Rich  was  the  man  who  carried  the  Idaho 
standard.  He  said  it  was  the  feeling  of  the  State 
that  Bryan  would  be  nominated.  So  did  Bo 
Sweeney,  who  got  in  the  procession  of  the  stand- 
ards for  California. 

"Alabama  was  so  enthusiastic  that  two  men — 
A.  H.  Keller  and  J.  A.  Roundtree — carried  the 
standard  to  Nebraska.  Alabama  was  delirious 
for  Bryan,  and  talked  about  having  the  nominat- 
ing speech  made  by  a  member  of  the  delegation. 

"Louisiana  sent  Joseph  St.  Amant  to  the  front 
with  the  standard,  and  he  thought  Bryan  would 
be  nominated.  Sam  Taylor  seized  the  standard 
for  Arkansas  and  almost  carried  pledges  for 
Bryan  as  the  nominee  of  the  party.  W.  S.  Hope- 
well,  of  New  Mexico,  felt  the  same  way,  as  well 
as  his  fellow-delegates.  J.  G.  Johnson,  of  Kansas, 
the  standard-bearer  in  the  demonstration,  was  too 
enthusiastic  about  Bryan  to  think  of  any  other 
possible  nominee.  Colonel  R.  W.  Davis,  of 
Florida,  carried  off  the  standard  because  he  want- 
ed to  be  in  the  hurrah.  And  so  it  seemed  with 
other  silver  States." 


339 

A  roll  of  the  states  was  called  on  the  reso- 
lutions, and  the  minority  report  was  rejected, 
the  majority  report  being  immediately  afterward 
adopted,  and  the  money  question  was  then  and 
there  made  the  issue  of  the  campaign.  The 
Platform  is  as  follows  : 

We,  the  Democrats  of  the  United  States,  in 
national  convention  assemble  to  reaffirm  our  alle- 
giance to  those  great  essential  principles  of  justice 
and  liberty  upon  which  our  institutions  are  found- 
ed, and  which  the  great  Democratic  party  has 
advocated  from  Jefferson's  time  to  our  own — free- 
dom of  speech,  freedom  of  the  press,  freedom  of 
conscience,  the  preservation  of  personal  rights, 
the  equality  of  all  citizens  before  the  law,  and 
the  faithful  observance  of  constitutional  limitations. 

During  all  these  years  the  Democratic  party 
has  resisted  the  tendency  of  selfish  interests  to 
the  centralization  of  governmental  power  and 
steadfastly  maintained  the  integrity  of  the  dual 
scheme  of  government  established  by  the  found- 
ers of  this  republic  of  republics.  Under  its  guid- 
ance and  teachings  the  great  principle  of  local 
self-government  has  found  its  best  expression  in 
the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  the  States  and 
in  its  assertion  of  the  necessity  of  confining  the 
General  Government  to  the  exercise  of  the  pow- 
ers granted  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  guaran- 


340 

tees  to  every  citizen  the  rights  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  The  Democratic  party  has  always  been 
the  exponent  of  political  liberty  and  religious  free- 
dom, and  it  renews  its  obligations  and  reaffirms 
its  devotion  to  these  fundamental  principles  of  the 
Constitution. 

Recognizing  that  the  money  system  is  para- 
mount to  all  others  at  this  time,  we  invite  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  Federal  Constitution  names 
silver  and  gold  together  as  the  money  metals  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  the  first  coinage  law 
passed  by  Congress  under  the  Constitution,  made 
the  silver  dollar  the  monetary  unit,  and  admitted 
gold  to  free  coinage  at  a  ratio  based  upon  the 
silver  dollar  unit. 

We  declare  that  the  act  of  1873  demonetizing 
silver  without  the  knowledge  or  approval  of  the 
American  people  has  resulted  in  the  appreciation 
of  gold,  and  a  corresponding  fall  in  the  price  of 
commodities  produced  by  the  people;  a  heavy 
increase  in  the  burden  of  taxation,  and  of  all  debts, 
public  and  private  ;  the  enrichment  of  the  money- 
lending  class  at  home  and  abroad  ;  prostration  of 
industry  and  impoverishment  of  the  people. 

We  are  unalterably  opposed  to  monometallism, 
which  has  locked  fast  the  prosperity  of  an  indus- 
trial people  in  the  paralysis  of  hard  times.  Gold 
monometallism  is  a  British  policy,  and  its  adoption 
has  brought  other  nations  into  financial  servitude 
to  London.  It  is  not  only  un-American,  but  anti- 


American,  and  it  can  be  fastened  on  the  United 
States  only  by -the  stifling  of  that  spirit  and  love 
of  liberty  which  proclaimed  our  political  indepen- 
dence in  1776  and  won  it  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution. 

We  demand  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
both  silver  and  gold  at  the  present  legal  ratio  of 
1 6  to  i,  without  waiting  for  the  aid  or  consent  of 
any  other  nation.  We  demand  that  the  standard 
silver  dollar  shall  be  a  full  legal  tender  equally 
with  gold  for  all  debts,  public  and  private,  and 
we  favor  such  legislation  as  will  prevent  for  the 
future  the  demonetization  of  any  kind  of  legal 
tender  money  by  private  contract. 

We  are  opposed  to  the  policy  and  practice  of 
surrendering  to  the  holders  of  obligations  of  the 
United  States  the  option  reserved  by  law  to  the 
Government  of  redeeming  such  obligations  in 
either  silver  coin  or  gold  coin. 

We  are  opposed  to  the  issuing  of  interest-bear- 
ing bonds  of  the  United  States  in  time  of  peace, 
and  condemn  the  trafficking  with  banking  syndi- 
cates, which  in  exchange  for  bonds  and  at  an 
enormous  profit  to  themselves,  supply  the  Fed- 
eral Treasury  with  gold  to  maintain  the  policy  of 
gold  monometallism. 

Congress  alone  has  the  power  to  coin  and  issue 
money,  and  President  Jackson  declared  that  this 
power  could  not  be  delegated  to  corporations  or 
individuals. 


342 

We,  therefore,  denounce  the  issuance  of  notes 
intended  to  circulate  as  money  by  national  banks 
as  in  derogation  of  the  Constitution,  and  we  de- 
mand that  all  paper  which  is  made  a  legal  tender 
for  public  and  private  debts,  or  which  is  receiva- 
ble for  dues  to  the  United  States,  shall  be  issued 
by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  shall 
be  redeemable  in  coin. 

We  hold  that  tariff  duties  should  be  levied  for 
purposes  of  revenue,  such  duties  to  be  so  ad- 
justed as  to  operate  equally  throughout  the  coun- 
try, and  not  discriminate  between  class  or  section, 
and  that  taxation  should  be  limited  by  the  needs 
of  the  Government  honestly  and  economically 
administered.  We  denounce  as  disturbing  to 
business  the  Republican  threat  to  restore  the 
McKinley  law,  which  has  been  twice  condemned 
by  the  people  in  national  elections,  and  which, 
enacted  under  the  false  plea  of  protection  to 
home  industry,  proved  a  prolific  breeder  of  trusts 
and  monopolies,  enriched  the  few  at  the  expense 
of  the  many,  restricted  trade,  and  deprived  the 
producers  of  the  great  American  staples  of  ac- 
cess to  their  natural  markets.  Until  the  money 
question  is  settled  we  are  opposed  to  any  agita- 
tion for  further  changes  in  our  tariff  laws,  except 
such  as  are  necessary  to  make  up  the  deficit  in 
revenue  caused  by  the  adverse  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  on  the  income  tax. 

There  would  be  no  deficit  in  the  revenue  but 


343 

for  the  annulment  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  a  law 
passed  by  a  Democratic  Congress  in  strict  pur- 
suance of  the  uniform  decisions  of  that  court  for 
nearly  one  hundred  years,  that  court  having 
under  that  decision  sustained  constitutional  ob- 
jections to  its  enactment  which  have  been  over- 
ruled by  the  ablest  Judges  who  had  ever  sat  on 
that  bench. 

We  declare  that  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to 
use  all  the  constitutional  power  which  remains 
after  that  decision,  or  which  may  come  from  its 
reversal  by  the  court  as  it  may  hereafter  be  con- 
stituted, so  that  the  burdens  of  taxation  may  be 
equally  and  impartially  laid  to  the  end  that  wealth 
may  bear  its  proportion  of  the  expenses  of  the 
Government. 

We  hold  that  the  most  efficient  way  of  protect- 
ing American  labor  is  to  prevent  the  importation 
of  foreign  pauper  labor  to  compete  with  it  in  the 
home  market,  and  that  the  value  of  the  home 
market  to  our  American  farmers  and  artisans  is 
greatly  reduced  by  a  vicious  monetary  system 
which  depresses  the  prices  of  their  products 
below  the  cost  of  production  and  thus  deprives 
them  of  the  means  of  purchasing  the  products  of 
our  home  manufactures,  and  as  labor  creates  the 
wealth  of  the  country  we  demand  the  passage  of 
such  laws  as  may  be  necessary  to  protect  it  in  all 
its  rights. 

The  absorption  of  wealth  by  the  few,  the  con- 


344 

solidation  of  our  leading-  railroad  systems,  and 
the  formation  of  trusts  and  pools  require  a  stricter 
control  by  the  Federal  Government  of  those  ar- 
teries of  commerce.  We  demand  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  powers  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  and  such  restrictions  and  guarantees 
in  the  control  of  railroads  as  will  protect  the 
people  from  robbery  and  oppression. 

We  are  in  favor  of  the  arbitration  of  differ- 
ences between  employers  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce  and  their  employes,  and  recommend 
such  legislation  as  is  necessary  to  carry  out  this 
principle. 

We  denounce  the  profligate  waste  of  the  money 
wrung  from  the  people  by  oppressive  taxation  and 
the  lavish  appropriations  of  recent  Republican 
Congresses,  which  have  kept  taxes  high,  while 
the  labor  that  pays  them  is  unemployed  and  the 
products  of  the  people's  toil  are  depressed  in 
prices  till  they  no  longer  repay  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction. We  demand  a  return  to  that  simplicity 
and  economy  which  befit  a  democratic  govern- 
ment and  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  useless 
offices,  the  salaries  of  which  drain  the  substance 
of  the  people. 

We  denounce  the  arbitrary  interference  by 
Federal  authorities  in  local  affairs  as  a  violation  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  a  crime 
against  free  institutions,  and  we  especially  object 
to  government  by  injunction  as  a  new  and  highly 


345 

dangerous  form  of  oppression,  by  which  Federal 
Judges,  in  contempt  of  the  laws  of  the  States  and 
rights  of  citizens,  become  at  once  legislators, 
Judges  and  executioners,  and  we  approve  the  bill 
passed  at  the  last  session  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  and  now  pending  in  the  House,  relative 
to  contempts  in  Federal  courts  and  providing  for 
trials  by  jury  in  certain  cases  of  contempt. 

No  discrimination  should  be  indulged  in  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  in  favor  of  any 
of  its  debtors.  We  appro\  e  of  the  refusal  of  the 
Fifty-third  Congress  to  pass  the  Pacific  railroads 
funding  bill,  and  denounce  the  effort  of  the  pres- 
ent Republican  Congress  to  enact  a  similar 
measure. 

Recognizing  the  just  claims  of  deserving  Union 
soldiers,  we  heartily  indorse  the  rule  of  the  pres- 
ent Commissioner  of  Pensions,  that  no  names  shall 
be  arbitrarily  dropped  from  the  pension  roll,  and 
the  fact  of  enlistment  and  service  should  be 
deemed  conclusive  evidence  against  disease  and 
disability  before  the  enlistment. 

We  favor  the  admission  of  the  Territories  of 
New  Mexico,  Arizona  and  Oklahoma  into  the 
Union  as  States,  and  we  favor  the  early  admission 
of  all  the  Territories  having  the  necessary  popu- 
lation and  resources  to  entitle  them  to  Statehood, 
and  while  they  remain  Territories  we  hold  that  the 
officials  appointed  to  administer  the  government 

ef  any  Territory,  together  with  the    District  of 
21 


346 

Columbia  and  Alaska,  should  be  bona-fide  resi 
dents  of  the  Territory  or  District  in  which  their 
duties  are  to  be  performed.  The  Democratic 
party  believes  in  home  rule,  and  that  all  public 
lands  of  the  United  States  should  be  appropriated 
to  the  establishment  of  free  homes  for  American 
citizens. 

We  recommend  that  the  Territory  of  Alaska  be 
granted  a  delegate  in  Congress,  and  that  the 
general  land  and  timber  laws  of  the  United  States 
be  extended  to  said  Territory. 

The  Monroe  doctrine,  as  originally  declared, 
and  as  interpreted  by  succeeding  Presidents,  is  a 
permanent  part  of  the  foreign  policy  of  the  United 
States,  and  must  at  all  times  be  maintained. 

We  extend  our  sympathy  to  the  people  of  Cuba 
in  their  heroic  struggle  for  liberty  and  indepen- 
dence. 

We  are  opposed  to  life  tenure  in  the  public 
service.  We  favor  appointments  based  upon 
merit,  fixed  terms  of  office,  and  such  an  adminis- 
tration of  the  civil  service  laws  as  will  afford  equal 
opportunities  to  all  citizens  of  ascertained  fitness. 

We  declare  it  to  be  the  unwritten  law  of  this 
Republic,  established  by  custom  and  usage  of  one 
hundred  years,  and  sanctioned  by  the  example  of 
the  greatest  and  wisest  of  those  who  founded  and 
have  maintained  our  Government,  that  no  man 
should  be  eligible  for  a  third  term  of  the  Presi- 
dential office. 


347 

The  Federal  Government  should  care  for  and 
improve  the  Mississippi  River  and  other  great 
waterways  of  the  Republic,  so  as  to  secure  for  the 
interior  States  easy  and  cheap  transportation  to 
tide-water.  When  any  waterway  of  the  Repub- 
lic is  of  sufficient  importance  to  demand  aid  of 
the  Government,  such  aid  should  be  extended 
upon  a  definite  plan  of  continuous  work  until 
permanent  improvement  is  secured. 

Confiding  in  the  justice  of  our  cause  and  the 
necessity  of  its  success  at  the  polls,  we  submit  the 
foregoing  declaration  of  principles  and  purposes 
to  the  considerate  judgment  of  the  American 
people.  We  invite  the  support  of  all  citizens  who 
approve  them  and  who  desire  to  have  them  made 
effective  through  legislation  for  the  relief  of  the 
people  and  the  restoration  of  the  country's  pros- 
perity. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  platform,  the  conven- 
tion took  a  recess  till  evening. 

Previous  to  this  time  the  convention  had  not 
considered  Mr.  Bryan  as  a  presidential  nominee, 
but  conditions  had  changed.  States  volunteered 
their  support  if  his  name  should  be  presented. 
His  name  seemed  to  be  upon  the  lips  of  every- 
body in  the  convention  city,  and  the  prediction 
was  freely  made  that  evening  that  he  would  be 
the  nominee.  Many  States,  which  had  no  favorite 
sons  of  their  own,  and  had  not  been  committed 
to  one  of  the  other  avowed  candidates,  were  anx 


343 

ious  for  the  honor  to  present  the  name  of  Mr. 
Bryan  as  a  candidate.  There  was  no  plan,  and 
no  organization,  but  a  genuine  spontaneous  senti- 
ment that  he  was  the  logical  candidate,  made  so 
by  the  developments  in  the  convention, .and  sup- 
ported by  his  years  of  zealous  work  on  the  lines 
laid  down  in  the  platform  adopted.  The  delegates 
claimed  that  the  only  organization  they  needed 
was  an  opportunity  to  vote  for  him,  Mr.  Bryan. 
This  feeling  did  not  decrease  during  the  recess, 
but  gained  strength  as  the  convention  proceeded 
with  its  deliberations. 

Upon  reassembling  in  the  evening,  it  was 
decided  to  devote  the  time  to  the  presentation  of 
candidates  for  the  presidential  nomination.  In 
pursuance  of  this  plan,  these  names  were  placed 
before  the  convention : 

Richard  P.  Bland,  of  Missouri  ;  Horace  Boies, 
of  Iowa  ;  Governor  Claude  Matthews,  of  Indiana  ; 
John  R.  McLean,  of  Ohio  ;  Senator  J.  S.  Black- 
burn, of  Kentucky  ;  Robert  E.  Pattison,  of  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Sylvester  Pennoyer,  of  Oregon,  and 
W.  J.  Bryan,  of  Nebraska. 

All  the  oratory  which  Iowa  could  boast  of  tried 
to  enthuse  the  convention  for  Gov.  Boies,  and 
failed  utterly.  Then  a  young  woman  took  the 
matter  up  and  succeeded  gloriously. 

She  was  Minnie  Murray,  of  Nashua,  Floyd  Co., 
la.,  and  after  Boies'  name  had  been  duly  put  in 
nomination  and  both  delegates  and  gallery  had 


349 

received  it  in  an  apathetic  sort  of  way,  she  stood 
up  in  her  seat  at  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the 
convention  and  in  two  minutes  had  converted  that 
crowd  of  20,000  people  from  an  orderly  assembly 
into  a  howling  mob. 

Miss  Murray  is  tall  and  strong.  She  has  the 
beauty  which  always  goes  with  good  health,  and 
the  attractiveness  which  is  a  necessary  part  of  en- 
thusiasm. And  last  night  she  was  enthusiastic. 
She  was  dressed  all  in  white,  and,  after  the  cold 
reception  which  had  greeted  the  nomination  of 
Boies  had  become  so  pronounced  as  to  be  almost 
painful,  she  did  the  only  thing  which  could  have 
been  done  to  rescue  her  favorite  candidate  from 
what  seemed  an  unfortunate  situation. 

With  her  eyes  ablaze  with  enthusiasm  and 
every  fibre  in  her  frame  trembling  with  excite- 
ment, she  stretched  out  her  hands  so  that  the 
white  muslin  sleeves  fell  back  from  her  arms  and 
began  shouting  for  Boies. 

Her  voice  was  clear  and  could  be  heard.  How 
she  did  shout !  Some  one  near  by  handed  her  a 
small  American  flag,  and  she  waved  it  frantically 
over  her  head,  waved  it  so  strongly  that  the  stick 
was  broken  in  an  instant.  By  this  time  there  was 
a  crowd  around  her  and  a  dozen  more  flags  were 
reached  to  her  at  once.  Then  she  had  two  and 
she  waved  'them  both,  but  again  the  sticks  broke 
and  again  she  had  to  be  supplied  with  more. 

By  this  time  she  had  aroused  the  convention. 


350 

She  was  the  focus  of  20,000  pairs  of  eyes,  and 
10,000  people  seemed,  each  one,  to  be  trying  to 
excel  her  in  cheering  for  the  candidate  from  Iowa. 
Every  delegate  was  on  his  feet,  the  galleries  were 
in  an  uproar,  and  from  all  over  that  vast  hall 
went  up  one  mighty  roar,  of  which  this  Iowa  girl 
was  both  the  inciter  and  the  controlling  spirit. 

By  this  time  the  band  had  begun  to  play.  The 
crowd  shouted  in  chorus,  and  Miss  Murray  waved 
her  flags  in  time  with  the  air.  The  Iowa  dele- 
gates were  already  parading  the  hall  with  a  large 
banner,  on  it  a  picture  of  Gov.  Boies,  and  they 
made  straight  for  this  enthusiastic  girl,  who  was  so 
loyally  backing  up  their  cause.  The  banner  was 
handed  to  her,  and,  although  it  was  heavy,  and 
she  had  been  using  every  nerve  and  muscle  she 
possessed  for  fully  fifteen  minutes,  yet  she  grasped 
the  big  standard  and  swung  the  silken  folds  back 
and  forth  in  the  air. 

Then  that  crowd  did  yell.  It  seemed  as  if  it 
would  take  off  the  roof,  and  from  everywhere 
and  every  side  went  up  the  shout  of,  "  Three 
cheers  for  the  girl  in  the  white  dress." 

But  there  was  more  work  for  Miss  Murray  to 
do  yet.  The  Iowa  delegates  insisted  she  must 
come  down  on  the  floor,  so  they  put  her  and  her 
companion,  Miss  Margaret  Gorman,  also  of 
Nashua,  at  their  head,  and  with  these  two  girls  as 
their  standard-bearers  marched  through  the  aisles 
of  the  delegates'  seats.  Then,  when  the  shout- 


ing  was  done,  they  gave  the  two  women  seats  in 
their  delegation. 

Miss  Murray,  with  Miss  Gorman,  runs  a  weekly 
newspaper  in  Nashua  called  the  Reporter.  They 
are  each  about  twenty-two  years  old,  as  bright  as 
they  make  girls  out  in  Iowa,  which  is  saying  a  good 
deal,  and  they  conduct  a  lively  paper.  They  are 
editors,  reporters,  proprietors,  and  business  man- 
agers, and  it  is  devoted  to  home  news  and  local 
gossip.  In  politics  it  is  independent,  but  Miss 
Murray  is  a  strong  supporter  of  Governor  Boies, 
having  been  a  personal  friend  of  his  daughter, 
now  dead,  and  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Gov- 
ernor's home  in  Waterloo.  She  was  born  and 
raised  in  Iowa,  and,  as  she  expressed  it  last  night, 
went  into  the  newspaper  business  three  years 
ago  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  living. 

Speaking  of  the  affair  after  it  was  all  over  she 
said : — 

"  Nobody  is  as  much  surprised  as  I  am  at  what 
I  did.  We  all  love  Horace  Boies  out  in  Iowa, 
and  when  his  name  was  being  cheered  there  was 
not  enough  noise  to  suit  me  in  our  part  of  the 
hall.  In  order  to  do  all  I  could  I  got  up  on  a 
chair  and  hurrahed  just  as  loud  as  I  could.  There 
was  a  Missouri  flag  near  by,  but  they  refused  to 
let  me  have  it,  so  I  got  a  smaller  one.  I  didn't 
know  I  was  attracting  so  much  attention  until 
they  brought  the  banner  up  to  where  I  sat." 

The  act  was  undoubtedly  absolutely  without 


352 

premeditation.  It  was  that  of  a  spirited,  enthusi- 
astic girl,  whose  whole  soul  was  wrapped  up  in 
what  was  going  on. 

Georgia,  the  first  of  the  States  to  pledge  its 
solid  vote  for  him,  furnished  the  man  to  place  Mr. 
Bryan's  name  before  the  convention  in  H.  T. 
Lewis,  one  of  the  delegates  from  that  State.  The 
nomination  was  seconded  by  Theodore  F.  Klutz, 
of  North  Carolina ;  George  Fred  Williams,  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Thomas  J.  Kernan,  of  Louis- 
iana. 

The  nominations  were  not  completed  till  after 
1 2  o'clock  that  night,  and  the  convention  adjourned 
until  the  next  morning. 

Friday  was  the  fourth  day  of  the  deliberations, 
and  it  was  fraught  with  much  that  will  make  the 
convention  noteworthy  in  the  political  history  of 
the  country.  There  had  been  little  campaigning 
for  the  individual  candidates  previous  to  this  day, 
as  had  been  customary  in  conventions  of  this 
character.  The  almost  universal  feeling  among 
the  delegates  had  been  that  a  platform  of  princi- 
ples should  be  framed  which  would  best  meet  the 
existing  political  conditions,  and  then  find  a  candi- 
date to  fit  the  platform.  The  first  and  most 
important  part  of  the  work  was  completed.  The 
next  step  was  to  be  taken.  The  delegates  had 
nothing  else  to  do  after  a  night  for  rest  and 

o  o 

reflection  but  calmly  consider  the  many  candidates 
before  them,  and  select  the  one  they  thought  best 


353 

represented  the  spirit  of  the  platform,  and  would 
best  interpret  it  to  the  people.  A  roll  call  was 
ordered,  and  the  work  upon  which  so  much 
depended,  and  upon  which  the  eyes  of  a  nation 
were  turned,  was  begun. 

The  result  of  the  first  ballot  was  as  follows : 
Bland  235,  Boies  85,  Matthews  37,  McLean  54, 
Bryan  119,  Blackburn  83,  Pattison  95,  Pennoyer 
8,  Teller  8,  Hill  i,  Russell  2,  Campbell  I,  Steven- 
son 7,  Tillman  17,  not  voting  178. 

All  of  the  delegates  from  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  and  part  of  those  from  Connecticut,  Dela- 
ware, Maine,  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  New  Hampshire,  Rhode  Island,  Ver- 
mont and  Wisconsin,  refused  to  vote  for  a  candi- 
date for  president,  giving  as  a  reason  that  they 
could  not  endorse  the  platform  adopted  by  the 
convention.  With  varying  numbers  they  main- 
tained that  position  throughout  the  balloting. 

The  second  ballot  resulted  as  follows :  Bland 
283,  Boies  41,  Matthews  33,  McLean  53,  Bryan 
190,  Blackburn  41,  Pattison  100,  scattering  and 
not  voting  189. 

The  third  ballot:  Bland  291,  Boies  36,  Mat- 
thews 36,  McLean  54,  Bryan  219,  Blackburn  27, 
Pattison  97,  scattering  and  not  voting  172. 

The  fourth  ballot:  Bland  241,  Boies  33,  Mat- 
thews 36,  McLean  46,  Bryan  280,  Blackburn  27, 
Pattison  97,  scattering  and  not  voting  170. 

Bryan   was   now    in   the   lead   and   confusion 


354 

reigned  in  the  convention  hall.  It  became  ap. 
parent  he  was  destined  to  be  the  winner  and 
Blackburn  and  McLean  both  withdrew  and  threw 
their  strength  to  the  Nebraska  man.  It  was  some 
time  before  sufficient  order  could  be  secured  in 
the  convention  to  permit  another  roll  call.  When 
it  was  ordered  it  resulted  as  follows : 

Bland  106,  Boies  26,  Matthews  31,  Bryan  500, 
Pattison  95,  scattering  and  not  voting  1 70. 

It  required  512  votes  to  secure  a  nomination 
and  Mr.  Bryan  just  lacked  12  at  the  completion  of 
the  roll  call,  but  there  was  a  stampede  at  this 
time  by  States  which  changed  their  votes  to  Mr. 
Bryan,  giving  him  the  nomination  without  ques- 
tion, which  was  afterward  made  by  acclamation 
on  the  part  of  those  participating  in  the  convention. 

The  reader  will  pardon  a  further  reproduction 
from  the  report  in  the  Chicago  Times-Herald  at 
this  time,  reading  as  follows  : 

"Without  any  motion  the  chairman  then  de- 
clared an  informal  recess  of  an  indefinite  length, 
and  the  convention  readily  fell  into  the  scheme  in 
order  to  permit  the  Bryan  men  to  give  vent  to 
their  enthusiasm,  which  had  not  all  escaped  in  the 
previous  demonstration  made  by  them  in  favor  of 
their  candidate.  Every  person  in  the  hall  arose 
to  his  or  her  feet,  and,  almost  too  tired  to  yell, 
still  sent  up  a  shout  for  the  Nebraska  man.  Once 
more  the  procession  of  the  standards  paraded 
about  the  hall,  all  taking  part  in  the  march  but 
those  of  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 


HON.  HORACE  BOIES, 
Ilx-Governor  of  Iowa. 


HON.    ADLAI   E.  STEVENSON, 

Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 


357 

New  Jersey,  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  Wisconsin, 
I  Massachusetts,  Delaware  and  Connecticut,  which 
j  remained  solidly  rooted  in  their  places,  while  the 
crowd  seethed  and  shrieked  around  them. 

The  Bland  Marching  Club  and  its  band,  which 
had  been  headed  off  many  a  time  from  parading 
through  the  hall,  now  got  in  their  fine  work  and 
headed  the  procession.  With  '  Marching  Through 
Georgia '  and  '  Dixie '  by  the  band,  and  the 
tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of  thousands  of  feet,  the 
crowd  entertained  itself  through  a  period  of  ten 
minutes,  with  an  occasional  shriek  of  '  Bryan, 
Bryan.'  Not  much  attempt  was  made  by  the 
officials  of  the  convention  to  reduce  the  riotous 
elements  to  submission,  but  after  twelve  minutes 
of  chaos  the  outburst  died  out  through  exhaustion." 

After  order  had  been  restored,  the  Convention 
took  a  recess  till  evening,  but,  upon  reassembling, 
then  as  promptly  adjourned  until  Saturday 
morning. 

The  selection  of  a  candidate  for  Vice-President 
was  the  only  work  before  the  convention  on 
Saturday,  and  fifteen  names  were  voted  for  on 
the  first  ballot.  After  that  they  dropped  out  one 
by  one,  until  on  the  fifth  ballot  Arthur  Sewall,  of 
Maine,  received  the  necessary  number  of  votes, 
and  his  nomination  was  made  by  acclamation. 

The  purpose  for  which  the  convention  had 
assembled  was  now  accomplished,  and  it  ad- 
journed sine  die  to  refer  the  result  of  its  delibera- 
tions to  the  people  for  their  approval. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

HON.  W.  J.  BRYAN'S   SPEECH  AT  NOTI- 
FICATION   MEETING,    MADISON 
SQUARE  GARDEN,  N.  Y. 

August  12,   1896. 

Mr.  Chairman,  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee 
and  Fellow  Citizens :  I  shall,  at  a  future  day  and 
in  a  formal  letter,  accept  the  nomination  which  is 
now  tendered  by  the  Notification  Committee,  and 
I  shall  at  that  time  touch  upon  the  issues  presented 
by  the  platform.  It  is  fitting,  however,  that  at  this 
time,  in  the  presence  of  those  here  assembled,  I 
speak  at  some  length  in  regard  to  the  campaign 
upon  which  we  are  now  entering.  We  do  not 
underestimate  the  forces  arrayed  against  us,  nor 
are  we  unmindful  of  the  importance  of  the  struggle 
in  which  we  are  engaged  ;  but,  relying  for  success 
upon  the  righteousness  of  our  cause,  we  shall  de- 
fend with  all  possible  vigor  the  positions  taken 
by  our  party.  We  are  not  surprised  that  some 
of  our  opponents,  in  the  absence  of  better  argu- 
ment, resort  to  abusive  epithets,  but  they  may 
rest  assured  that  no  language,  however  violent,  no 


359 

invectives,  however  vehement,  will  lead  us  to 
depart  a  single  hair's  breadth  from  the  course 
marked  out  by  the  National  Convention.  The 
citizen,  either  public  or  private,  who  assails 
the  character  and  questions  the  patriotism  of 
the  delegates  assembled  in  the  Chicago  con- 
vention, assails  the  character  and  questions  the 
patriotism  of  the  millions  who  have  arrayed  them- 
selves under  the  banner  there  raised. 

It  has  been  charged  by  men  standing  high  in 
business  and  political  circles  that  our  platform  is  a 
menace  to  private  security  and  public  safety ;  and 
it  has  been  asserted  that  those  whom  I  have  the 
honor  for  the  time  being,  to  represent,  not  only 
meditate  an  attack  upon  the  rights  of  property, 
but  are  the  foes  both  of  social  order  and  national 
honor. 

Those  who  stand  upon  the  Chicago  platform 
are  prepared  to  make  known  and  to  defend  every 
motive  which  influences  them,  every  purpose 
which  animates  them,  and  every  hope  which  in- 
spires them.  They  understand  the  genius  of  our 
institutions,  they  are  staunch  supporters  of  the 
form  of  government  under  which  we  live,  and  they 
build  their  faith  upon  foundations  laid  by  the 
fathers.  Andrew  Jackson  has  stated,  with  admi- 
rable clearness  and  with  an  emphasis  which  can- 
not be  surpassed,  both  the  duty  and  the  sphere  of 
government.  He  said: 

o 

Distinctions  in  society  will  always  exist  under  every  just  government 
Equality  of  talents,  of  education  or  of  wealth,  cannot  be  produced  by 


360 

human  institutions.  In  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  gifts  of  Heaven  and  the 
fruits  of  superior  industry,  economy  and  virtue,  every  man  is  equally  en 
titled  to  protection  by  law. 

We  yield  to  none  in  our  devotion  to  the  doc- 
trine just  enunciated.  Our  campaign  has  not  for 
its  object  the  reconstruction  of  society.  We  can- 
not insure  to  the  vicious  the  fruits  of  a  virtuous 
life  ;  we  would  not  invade  the  home  of  the  provi- 
dent in  order  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  spend- 
thrift ;  we  do  not  propose  to  transfer  the  rewards 
of  industry  to  the  lap  of  indolence.  Property  is 
and  will  remain  the  stimulus  to  endeavor  and  the 
compensation,  for  toil.  We  believe,  as  asserted 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  all  men 
are  created  equal ;  but  that  does  not  mean  that  all 
men  are  or  can  be  equal  in  possessions,  in  ability 
or  in  merit ;  it  simply  means  that  all  shall  stand 
equal  before  the  law,  and  that  government  officials 
shall  not,  in  making,  construing  or  enforcing  the 
law,  discriminate  between  citizens. 

I  assert  that  property  rights,  as  well  as  the 
rights  of  persons,  are  safe  in  the  hands  of  the 
common  people.  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  his  mes- 
sage sent  to  Congress  in  December,  1 86 r,  said: 
"  No  men  living  are  more  worthy  to  be  trusted  than 
those  who  toil  up  from  poverty;  none  less  inclined 
to  take  or  touch  ought  which  they  have  not  hon- 
estly earned."  I  repeat  this  language  with  un- 
qualified approval,  and  join  with  him  in  the  warn- 
ing which  he  added,  namely :  "  Let  them  beware 


of  surrendering  a  political  power  which  they  al- 
ready possess,  and  which  power,  if  surrendered, 
will  surely  be  used  to  close  the  doors  of  advance- 
ment against  such  as  they,  and  to  fix  new  disabili- 
ties and  burdens  upon  them,  till  all  of  liberty  shall 
be  lost."  Those  who  daily  follow  the  injunction, 
"  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou  eat  bread," 
are  now,  as  they  ever  have  been,  the  bulwark  of 
law  and  order— the  source  of  our  nation's  great- 
ness in  time  of  peace,  and  its  surest  defenders  in 
time  of  war. 

But  I  have  only  read  a  part  of  Jackson's  utter- 
ance— let  me  give  you  his  conclusion  :  "  But  when 
the  law  undertakes  to  add  to  those  natural  and 
just  advantages  artificial  distinctions — to  grant 
titles,  gratuities  and  exclusive  privileges — to  make 
the  rich  richer  and  the  potent  more  powerful — the 
humble  members  of  society,  the  farmers,  me- 
chanics and  the  day-laborers,  who  have  neither 
the  time  nor  the  means  of  securing  like  favors  for 
themselves,  have  a  right  to  complain  of  the  in- 
justice of  their  government."  Those  who  sup- 
port the  Chicago  platform  indorse  all  of  the  quo- 
tation from  Jackson — the  latter  part  as  well  as  the 
former  part. 

We  are  not  surprised  to  find  arrayed  against 
us  those  who  are  the  beneficiaries  of  government 
favoritism — they  have  read  our  platform.  Nor 
are  we  surprised  to  learn  that  we  must  in  this 
campaign  face  the  hostility  of  those  who  find  a 


362 

pecuniary  advantage  in  advocating  the  doctrine 
of  non-interference  when  great  aggregations  of 
wealth  are  trespassing  upon  the  rights  of  indi- 
viduals. We  welcome  such  opposition — it  is  the 
highest  indorsement  which  could  be  bestowed 
upon  us.  We  are  content  to  have  the  co-opera- 
tion of  those  who  desire  to  have  the  government 
administered  without  fear  or  favor.  It  is  not  the 
wish  of  the  general  public  that-  trusts  should 
spring  into  existence  and  override  the  weaker 
members  of  society ;  it  is  not  the  wish  of  the  gen- 
eral public  that  these  trusts  should  destroy  com- 
petition and  then  collect  such  tax  as  they  will 
from  those  who  are  at  their  mercy ;  nor  is  it  the 
fault  of  the  general  public  that  the  instrumentali- 
ties of  government  have  been  so  often  prostituted 
to  purposes  of  private  gain.  Those  who  stand 
upon  the  Chicago  platform  believe  that  the  gov- 
ernment should  not  only  avoid  wrongdoing,  but 
that  it  should  also  prevent  wrongdoing,  and  they 
believe  that  the  law  should  be  enforced  alike 
against  all  enemies  of  the  public  weal.  They  do 
not  excuse  petit  larceny,  but  they  declare  that 
grand  larceny  is  equally  a  crime.  They  do  not  de- 
fend the  occupation  of  the  highwayman  who  robs 
the  unsuspecting  traveller,  but  they  include  among 
the  transgressors  those  who,  through  the  more 
polite  and  less  hazardous  means  of  legislation, 
appropriate  to  their  own  use  the  proceeds  of  the 
toil  of  others.  The  commandment  "Thou  shalt 


not  steal,"  thundered  from  Sinai  and  reiterated  in 
the  legislation  of  all  nations,  is  no  respecter  of 
persons.  It  must  be  applied  to  the  great  as  well 
as  to  the  small ;  to  the  strong  as  well  as  the  weak; 
to  the  corporate  persons  created  by  law  as  well 
as  to  the  person  of  flesh  and  blood  created  by  the 
Almighty.  No  government  is  worthy  of  the  name 
which  is  not  able  to  protect  from  every  arm  up- 
lifted for  his  injury  the  humblest  citizen  who  lives 
beneath  the  flag.  It  follows  as  a  necessary  con- 
clusion that  vicious  legislation  must  be  remedied 
by  the  people  who  suffer  from  the  effects  of  such 
legislation,  and  not  by  those  who  enjoy  its  benefits. 
The  Chicago  platform  has  been  condemned  by 
some  because  it  dissents  from  an  opinion  ren- 
dered by  the  Supreme  Court  declaring  the  income 
tax  law  unconstitutional.  Our  critics  even  go  so 

o 

far  as  to  apply  the  name  Anarchist  to  those  who 
stand  upon  that  plank  of  the  platform.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  we  expressly  recognize  the 
binding  force  of  that  decision  so  long  as  it  stands 
as  a  part  of  the  law  of  the  land.  There  is  in  the 
platform  no  suggestion  of  an  attempt  to  dispute 
the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  party 
i-s  simply  to  use  all  the  constitutional  power  which 
remains  after  that  decision,  or  which  may  come 
from  its  reversal  by  the  court  as  it  may  here- 
after be  constituted.  Is  there  any  disloyalty  in 
that  pledge?  For  a  hundred  years  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  has  sustained  the 


364 

principle  which  underlies  the  income  tax.  Some 
twenty  years  ago  this  same  court  sustained  with- 
out a  dissenting  voice  an  income  tax  law  almost 
identical  with  the  one  recently  overthrown ;  has 
not  a  future  court  as  much  right  to  return  to  the 
judicial  precedents  of  a  century  as  the  present 
court  had  to  depart  from  them  ?  When  courts 
allow  rehearings,  they  admit  that  error  is  possible; 
the  late  decision  against  the  income  tax  was  ren- 
dered by  a  majority  of  one  after  a  rehearing. 

While  the  money  question  overshadows  all 
other  questions  in  importance,  I  desire  it  dis- 
tinctly understood  that  I  shall  offer  no  apology 
for  the  income  tax  plank  of  the  Chicago  platform. 
The  last  income  tax  sought  to  apportion  the 
burdens  of  government  more  equitably  among 
those  who  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  govern- 
ment. At  present  the  expenses  of  the  Federal 
government,  collected  through  internal  revenue 
taxes  and  import  duties,  are  especially  burden- 
some upon  the  poorer  classes  of  society.  A  law 
which  collects  from  some  citizens  more  than  their 
share  of  the  taxes,  and  collects  from  other 
citizens  less  than  their  share,  is  simply  an  indirect 
means  of  transferring  one  man's  property  to  an- 
other man's  pocket,  and  while  the  process  may  be 
quite  satisfactory  to  the  men  who  escape  just  taxa- 
tion, it  will  never  be  satisfactory  those  who  are  over- 
burdened. The  last  income  tax  law,  with  its  ex- 
emption provisions,  when  considered  in  connection 


AETHUB  SEWALL,  ESQ., 


with  other  methods  of  taxation  in  force,  was  not 
unjust  to  the  possessors  of  large  incomes,  because 
they  were  not  compelled  to  pay  a  total  federal  tax 
greater  than  their  share.  The  income  tax  is  not 
new,  nor  is  it  based  upon  hostility  to  the  rich. 
The  system  is  employed  in  several  of  the  most 
important  nations  of  Europe,  and  every  income 
tax  law  now  upon  the  statute  books  in  any  land, 
so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  contains 
an  exemption  clause.  While  the  collection  of  an 
income  tax  in  other  countries  does  not  make  it 
necessary  for  this  nation  to  adopt  the  system,  yet 
it  ought  to  moderate  the  language  of  those  who 
denounce  the  income  tax  as  an  assault  upon  the 
well-to-do. 

Not  only  shall  I  refuse  to  apologize  for  the 
advocacy  of  an  income  tax  law  by  the  national 
convention,  but  I  shall  also  refuse  to  apologize  for 
the  exercise  by  it  of  the  right  to  dissent  from  a 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In  a  govern- 
ment like  ours  every  public  official  is  a  public 
servant,  whether  he  holds  office  by  election  or  by 
appointment,  whether  he  serves  for  a  term  of 
years  or  during  good  behavior,  and  the  people 
have  a  right  to  criticise  his  official  acts.  "  Confi- 
dence is  everywhere  the  parent  of  despotism  ; 
free  government  exists  in  jealousy  and  not  in 
confidence" — these  are  the  words  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  and  I  submit  that  they  present  a  truer 
conception  of  popular  government  than  that 


366 

entertained  by  those  who  would  prohibit  an  un- 
favorable comment  upon  a  court  decision.  Truth 
will  vindicate  itself;  only  error  fears  free  speech. 
No  public  official,  who  conscientiously  discharges 
his  duty  as  he  sees  it,  will  desire  to  deny  to  those 
whom  he  serves  the  right  to  discuss  his  official 
conduct. 

Now  let  me  ask  you  to  consider  the  paramount 
question  of  this  campaign — the  money  question. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  defend  the  principle  of 
bimetallism.  No  national  party  during  the  entire 
history  of  the  United  States  has  ever  declared 
against  it,  and  no  party  in  this  campaign  has  had 
the  temerity  to  oppose  it.  Three  parties — the 
Democratic,  Populist,  and  Silver  Parties — have 
not  only  declared  for  bimetallism,  but  have  out- 
lined the  specific  legislation  necessary  to  restore 
silver  to  its  ancient  position  by  the  side  of  gold. 
The  Republican  platform  expressly  declares  that 
bimetallism  is  desirable  when  it  pledges  the 
Republican  party  to  aid  in  securing  it  as  soon  as 
the  assistance  of  certain  foreign  nations  can  be 
obtained.  Those  who  represented  the  minority 
sentiment  in  the  Chicago  Convention  opposed 
the  free  coinage  of  silver  by  the  United  States 
by  independent  action  on  the  ground  that,  in 
their  judgment,  it  "  would  retard  or  entirely 
prevent  the  establishment  of  international  bime- 
tallism, to  which  the  efforts  of  the  government 

o 

should  be  steadily  directed."     When  they  asserted 


36; 

that  the  efforts  of  the  government  should  be 
steadily  directed  toward  the  establishment  of  in- 
ternational bimetallism,  they  condemned  mono- 
metallism. The  gold  standard  has  been  weighed 
in  the  balance  and  found  wanting.  Take  from  it 
the  powerful  support  of  the  money-owning  and 
money-changing  classes  and  it  cannot  stand  for 
one  day  in  any  nation  in  the  world.  It  was  fast- 
ened upon  the  United  States  without  discussion 
before  the  people,  and  its  friends  have  never  yet 
been  willing  to  risk  a  verdict  before  the  voters 
upon  that  issue. 

There  can  be  no  sympathy  or  co-operation  be- 
tween the  advocates  of  a  universal  gold  standard 
and  the  advocates  of  bimetallism.  Between  bi- 
metallism, whether  independent  or  international, 
and  the  gold  standard  there  is  an  impassable  gulf. 
Is  this  quadrennial  agitation  in  favor  of  inter- 
national bimetallism  conducted  in  good  faith,  or 
do  our  opponents  really  desire  to  maintain  the 
gold  standard  permanently?  Are  they  willing  to 
confess  the  superiority  of  a  double  standard  when 
joined  in  by  the  leading  nations  of  the  world,  or 
do  they  still  insist  that  gold  is  the  only  metal  suit- 
able for  standard  money  among  civilized  nations  ? 
If  they  are,  in  fact,  desirous  of  securing  bimetallism, 
we  may  expect  them  to  point  out  the  evils  of  a 
gold  standard  and  defend  bimetallism  as  a  system. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  bending  their 
energies  toward  the  permanent  establishment  of 


368 

a  gold  standard  under  cover  of  a  declaration  in 
favor  of  international  bimetallism,  I  am  justified 
in  suggesting  that  honest  money  cannot  be  ex- 
pected at  the  hands  of  those  who  deal  dishonestly 
with  the  American  people. 

What  is  the  test  of  honesty  in  money?  It 
must  certainly  be  found  in  the  purchasing  power 
of  the  dollar.  An  absolutely  honest  dollar  would 
not  vary  in  its  general  purchasing  power;  it  would 
be  absolutely  stable  when  measured  by  average 
prices.  A  dollar  which  increases  in  purchasing 
power  is  just  as  dishonest  as  a  dollar  which  de- 
creases in  purchasing  power.  Professor  Laughlin, 
now  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  one  of  the 
highest  gold  standard  authorities,  in  his  work  on 
bimetallism,  not  only  admits  that  gold  does  not 
remain  absolutely  stable  in  value,  but  expressly 
asserts  "  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  standard 
of  value  for  future  payments,  either  in  gold  or 
silver,  which  remains  absolutely  invariable."  He 
even  suggests  that  a  multiple  standard,  wherein 
the  unit  is  "  based  upon  the  selling  prices  of  a 
number  of  articles  of  general  consumption,"  would 
be  a  more  just  standard  than  either  gold  or  silver, 
or  both,  because  "  a  long  time  contract  would 
thereby  be  paid  at  its  maturity  by  the  same  pur- 
chasing power  as  was  given  in  the  beginning." 

It  cannot  be  successfully  claimed  that  monomet- 
allism or  bimetallism,  or  any  other  system,  gives 
an  absolutely  just  standard  of  value.  Under  both 


369 

monometallism  and  bimetallism  the   government 

o 

fixes  the  weight  and  fineness  of  the  dollar,  invests 
it  with  legal  tender  quantities,  and  then  opens  the 
mint  to  its  unrestricted  coinage,  leaving  the  pur- 
chasing power  of  the  dollar  to  be  determined  by 
the  number  of  dollars.     Bimetallism  is  better  than 
monometallism,  not  because  it  gives  us  a  perfect 
dollar — that  is,  a  dollar  absolutely  unvarying  in  its 
general  purchasing  power — but  because  it  makes 
a  nearer  approach  to  stability,  to  honesty,  to  jus- 
tice, than  a  gold  standard  possibly  can.     Prior  to 
I873,  when    there    were   enough  open    mints  to 
permit  all  the  gold  and  silver  available  for  coinage 
to  find  entrance  into  the  world's  volume  of  standard 
money,  the  United  States  might  have  maintained  a 
gold  standard  with  less  injury  to   the   people  of 
this  country;  but  now,  when  each  step  toward  a 
universal  gold  standard  enhances  the  purchasing 
power  of  gold,  depresses  prices,  and  transfers  to 
the  pockets  of  the  creditor  class  an  unearned  incre- 
ment, the  influence  of  this  great  nation  must  be 
thrown  upon  the  side  of  gold  unless  we  are  pre- 
pared to  accept  the  natural  and  legitimate  conse- 
quences of  such  an  act.     Any  legislation  which 
lessens  the  world's  stock  of  standard  money  in- 
creases  the   exchangeable    value    of  the    dollar ; 
therefore,  the  crusade  against  silvermust  inevitably 
raise  the  purchasing  power  of  money,  and  lower 
the  money  value  of  all  other  forms  of  property. 
Our  opponents  sometimes  admit  that  it  was  a 


370 

mistake  to  demonetize  silver,  but  insist  that  we 
should  submit  to  present  conditions  rather  than 
return  to  the  bimetallic  system.  They  err  in 
supposing  that  we  have  reached  the  end  of  the 
evil  results  of  a  gold  standard ;  we  have  not 
reached  the  end.  The  injury  is  a  continuing  one, 
and  no  person  can  say  how  long  the  world  is  to 
suffer  from  the  attempt  to  make  gold  the  only  stand- 
ard money.  The  same  influences  which  are  now 
operating  to  destroy  silver  in  the  United  States 
will,  if  successful  here,  be  turned  against  other 
silver-using  countries,  and  each  new  convert  to 
the  gold  standard  will  add  to  the  general  distress. 
So  long  as  the  scramble  for  gold  continues,  prices 
must  fall,  and  a  general  fall  in  prices  is  but  another 
definition  of  hard  times. 

Our  opponents,  while  claiming  entire  disinter- 
estedness for  themselves,  have  appealed  to  the 
selfishness  of  nearly  every  class  of  society.  Rec- 
ognizing the  disposition  of  the  individual  voter  to 
consider  the  effect  of  any  proposed  legislation 
upon  himself,  we  present  to  the  American  people 
the  financial  policy  outlined  in  the  Chicago  plat- 
form, believing  that  it  will  result  in  the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number. 

The- farmers  are  opposed  to  the  q-old  standard 
because  they  have  felt  its  effects.  Since  they  sell 
at  wholesale  and  buy  at  retail,  they  have  lost  more 
than  they  have  gained  by  falling  prices,  and,  be- 
sides this,  they  have  found  that  certain  fixed 


37' 
charges  have  not  fallen    at  all.     Taxes  have  not 

o 

been  perceptibly  decreased,  although  it  requires 
more  of  farm  products  now  than  formerly  to 
secure  the  money  with  which  to  pay  taxes. 
Debts  have  not  fallen.  The  farmer  who  owed 
$1000  is  still  compelled  to  pay  $1000,  although  it 
may  be  twice  as  difficult  as  formerly  to  obtain  the 
dollars  with  which  to  pay  the  debt.  Railroad  rates 
have  not  been  reduced  to  keep  pace  with  falling 
prices,  and  besides  these  items  there  are  many 
more.  The  farmer  has  thus  found  it  more  and 
more  difficult  to  live.  Has  he  not  a  just  com- 
plaint against  the  gold  standard? 

The  wage-earners  have  been  injured  by  a  gold 
standard,  and  have  expressed  themselves  upon 
the  subject  with  great  emphasis.  In  February, 
1895,  a  petition  asking  for  the  immediate  restora- 
tion of  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  gold  and 
silver  at  1 6  to  i  was  signed  by  the  representatives 
of  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  leading  labor  organizations 
and  presented  to  Congress.  Wage-earners  know 
that  while  a  gold  standard  raises  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  dollar  it  also  makes  it  more  difficult 
to  obtain  possession  of  the  dollar  ;  they  know  that 
employment  is  less  permanent,  loss  of  work  more 
probable,  and  re-employment  less  certain.  A  gold 
standard  encourages  the  hoarding  of  money  be- 
cause money  is  rising;  it  also  discourages  enter- 
prise and  paralyzes  industry.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  restoration  of  bimetallism  will  discourage  hoard- 


372 

ing,  because,  when  prices  are  steady  or  rising, 
money  cannot  afford  to  lie  idle  in  the  bank  vaults. 
The  farmers  and  wage-earners  together  constitute 
a  considerable  majority  of  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try. Why  should  their  interests  be  ignored  in 
considering  financial  legislation  ?  A  monetary 
system  which  is  peculiarly  advantageous  to  a  few 
syndicates  has  far  less  to  commend  it  than  a 
system  that  would  give  hope  and  encouragement 
to  those  who  create  the  nation's  wealth. 

Our  opponents  have  made  a  special  appeal  to 
those  who  hold  fire  and  life  insurance  policies,  but 
these  policy  holders  know  that,  since  the  total 
premiums  received  exceed  the  total  losses  paid,  a 
risinor  standard  must  be  of  more  benefit  to  the 

o 

companies  than  to  the  policy  holders. 

Much  solicitude  has  been  expressed  by  our 
opponents  for  the  depositors  in  savings  banks. 
They  constantly  parade  before  these  depositors 
the  advantages  of  a  gold  standard ;  but  these  ap- 
peals will  be  in  vain,  because  savings  bank  depos- 
itors know  that  under  a  gold  standard  there  is 
increasing  danger  that  they  will  lose  their  deposits 
because  of  the  inability  of  the  banks  to  collect 
their  assets  ;  and  they  still  further  know  that,  if  the 
gold  standard  is  to  continue  indefinitely,  they  may 
be  compelled  to  withdraw  their  deposits  in  order 
to  pay  living  expenses. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  note  the  increasing  num- 
ber of  failures,  in  order  to  know  that  a  gold 


373 

standard  is  ruinous  to  merchants  and  manufac- 
turers. These  business  men  do  not  make  their 
profits  from  the  people  from  whom  they  borrow 
money,  but  from  the  people  to  whom  they  sell 
their  goods.  If  the  people  cannot  buy,  retailers 
cannot  sell,  and,  if  retailers  cannot  sell,  wholesale 
merchants  and  manufacturers  must  go  into  bank- 
ruptcy. 

Those  who  hold,  as  a  permanent  investment, 
the  stock  of  railroads  and  of  other  enterprises — I 
do  not  include  those  who  speculate  in  stocks  or 
use  stock  holdings  as  a  means  of  obtaining  an 
inside  advantage  in  construction  contracts — are 
injured  by  a  gold  standard.  The  rising  dollar  de- 
stroys the  earning  power  of  these  enterprises 
without  reducing  their  liabilities,  and,  as  dividends 
cannot  be  paid  until  salaries  and  fixed  charges 
have  been  satisfied,  the  stockholders  must  bear 
the  burden  of  hard  times. 

Salaries  in  business  occupations  depend  upon 
business  conditions,  and  the  gold  standard  both 
lessens  the  amount  and  threatens  the  permanency 
of  such  salaries. 

Official  salaries,  except  the  salaries  of  those  who 
hold  office  for  life,  must,  in  the  long  run,  be  ad- 
justed to  the  conditions  of  those  who  pay  the 
taxes ;  and  if  the  present  financial  policy  con- 
tinues, we  must  expect  the  contest  between  the 
taxpayer  and  the  taxeater  to  increase  in  bitter- 
ness. 


374 

The  professional  classes,  in  the  main,  derive 
their  support  from  the  producing  classes,  and  can 
only  enjoy  prosperity  when  there  is  prosperity 
among  those  who  create  wealth. 

I  have  not  attempted  to  describe  the  effect  of 
the  gold  standard  upon  all  classes — in  fact,  I  have 
only  had  time  to  mention  a  few — but  each  person 
will  be  able  to  apply  the  principles  stated  to  his 
own  occupation. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  it  is  the  desire 
of  people  generally  to  convert  their  earnings  into 
real  or  personal  property.  This  being  true,  in 
considering  any  temporary  advantage  which  may 
come  from  a  system  under  which  the  dollar  rises 
in  its  purchasing  power,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  dollar  cannot  buy  more  than  formerly 
unless  property  sells  for  less  than  formerly. 
Hence,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  large  portion  of  those 
who  may  find  some  pecuniary  advantage  in  a 
gold  standard  will  discover  their  losses  exceed 
their  gains. 

It  is  sometimes  asserted  by  our  opponents  that 
a  bank  belono-s  to  the  debtor  class ;  but  this  is  not 

- "« 

true  of  any  solvent  bank.  Every  statement  pub- 
lished by  a  solvent  bank  shows  that  the  assets  ex- 
ceed the  liabilities.  That  is  to  say,  while  the 
bank  owes  a  large  amount  of  money  to  its  depos- 
itors, it  not  only  has  enough  on  hand  in  money 
and  notes  to  pay  its  depositors  ;  but,  in  addition 
thereto,  has  enough  to  cover  its  capital  and  sur- 


375 

plus.  When  the  dollar  is  rising  in  value  slowly, 
a  bank  may,  by  making  short-time  loans  and 
taking  good  security,  avoid  loss ;  but  when  prices 
are  falling  rapidly,  the  bank  is  apt  to  lose  more 
because  of  bad  debts  than  it  can  gain  by  the  in- 
crease in  the  purchasing  power  of  its  capital  and 
surplus. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  some  bank- 
ers combine  the  business  of  a  bond  broker  with 
the  ordinary  banking  business,  and  these  may 
make  enough  in  the  negotiation  of  loans  to  offset 

o  o 

the  losses  arising  in  legitimate  banking  business. 
As  long  as  human  nature  remains  as  it  is,  there 
will  always  be  danger  that,  unless  restrained  by 
public  opinion  or  legal  enactment,  those  who  see 
a  pecuniary  profit  for  themselves  in  a  certain  con- 
dition may  yield  to  the  temptation  to  bring  about 
that  condition.  Jefferson  has  stated  that  one  of 
the  main  duties  of  government  is  to  prevent  men 
from  injuring  one  another,  and  never  was  that 
duty  more  important  than  it  is  to-day.  It  is  not 
strange  that  those  who  have  made  a  profit  by  fur- 
nishing gold  to  the  government  in  the  hour  of  its 
extremity  favor  a  financial  policy  which  will  keep 
the  government  dependent  upon  them.  I  believe, 
however,  that  I  speak  the  sentiment  of  the  vast 
majority  of  people  of  the  United  States  when  I  say 
that  a  wise  financial  policy  administered  in  behalf 
of  all  the  people  would  make  our  government  in- 


376 

dependent  of  any  combination  of  financiers,  foreign 
or  domestic. 

Let  me  say  a  word,  now,  in  regard  to  certain 
persons  who  are  pecuniarily  benefited  by  a  gold 
standard,  and  who  favor  it,  not  from  a  desire  to 
trespass  on  the  rights  of  others,  but  because  the 
circumstances  which  surround  them  blind  them  to 
the  effect  of  the  gold  standard  upon  others.  I 
shall  ask  you  to  consider  the  language  of  two 
gentlemen  whose  long  public  service  and  high 
standing  in  the  party  to  which  they  belong  will 
protect  them  from  adverse  criticism  by  our  oppo- 
nents. In  1869  Senator  Sherman  said:  "The 
contraction  of  the  currency  is  a  far  more  distress- 
ing operation  than  senators  suppose.  Our  own 
and  other  nations  have  gone  through  that  opera- 
tion before.  It  is  not  possible  to  take  that  voyage 
without  the  sorest  distress ;  it  is  a  period  of  loss, 
danger,  lassitude  of  trade,  fall  of  wages,  suspen- 
sion of  enterprise,  bankruptcy  and  disaster.  It 
means  ruin  to  all  dealers  whose  debts  are  twice  their 
business  capital,  though  one-third  less  than  their 
actual  property.  It  means  the  fall  of  all  agricul- 
tural production  without,  any  reduction  of  taxes. 
What  prudent  man  would  dare  to  build  a  house, 
a  railroad,  a  factory  or  a  barn  with  this  certain 
fact  before  him?  "  As  I  have  said  before,  the  sal- 
aried officer  referred  to  must  be  the  man  whose 
salary  is  fixed  for  life,  and  not  the  man  whose 
salary  depends  upon  business  conditions.  When 


377 

Mr.  Sherman  describes  contraction  of  the  currency 
as  disastrous  to  all  the  people  except  the  capitalist 
out  of  debt  and  those  who  stand  in  a  similar  posi- 
tion to  his,  he  is  stating  a  truth  which  must  be 
apparent  to  every  person  who  will  give  the  matter 
careful  consideration.  Mr.  Sherman  was  at  that 
time  speaking  of  the  contraction  of  the  volume  of 
paper  currency ;  but  the  principle  which  he  set 
forth  applies  if  there  is  a  contraction  of  the  volume 
of  the  standard  money  of  the  world. 

Mr.  Elaine  discussed  the  same  principle  in  con- 
nection with  the  demonetization  of  silver.  Speak- 
ing in  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the  yth 
of  February,  1878,  he  said  :  "  I  believe  the  struggle 
now  going  on  in  this  country  and  other  countries 
for  a  single  gold  standard  would,  if  successful, 
produce  widespread  disaster  in  and  throughout 
the  commercial  world.  The  destruction  of  silver 
as  money,  and  the  establishment  of  gold  as  the 
sole  unit  of  value  must  have  a  ruinous  effect  on 
all  forms  of  property,  except  those  invested  which 
yield  a  fixed  return  in  money.  These  would  be 
enormously  enhanced  in  value,  and  would  gain  a 
disproportionate  and  unfair  advantage  over  every 
other  species  of  property."  It  is  strange  that  the 
"  holders  of  investments  which  yield  a  fixed  return 
in  money  "  can  regard  the  destruction  of  silver 
with  complacency  ?  May  we  not  expect  the 
holders  of  other  forms  of  property  to  protest 
against  giving  to  money  a  "  disproportionate  and 


378 

unfair  advantage  over  every  other  species  of  prop- 
erty ?"  If  the  relatively  few  whose  wealth  con- 
sists largely  in  fixed  investments  have  a  right  to 
use  the  ballot  to  enhance  the  value  of  their  invest- 
ments, have  not  the  rest  of  the  people  the  right  to 
use  the  ballot  to  protect  themselves  from  the  dis- 
astrous consequences  of  a  rising  standard? 

The  people  who  must  purchase  money  with  the 
products  of  toil  stand  in  a  position  entirely  differ- 
ent from  the  position  of  those  who  own  money  or 
receive  a  fixed  income.  The  well-being  of  the 
nation — aye,  of  civilization  itself — depends  upon 
the  prosperity  of  the  masses.  What  shall  it 
profit  us  to  have  a  dollar  which  grows  more  valu- 
able every  day  if  such  a  dollar  lowers  the  standard 
of  civilization  and  brings  distress  to  the  people  ? 
What  shall  it  profit  us  if,  in  trying  to  raise  our 
credit  by  increasing  the  purchasing  power  of 
our  dollar,  we  destroy  our  ability  to  pay  the  debts 
already  contracted  by  lowering  the  purchasing 
power  of  the  products  with  which  those  debts 
must  be  paid?  If  it  is  asserted,  as  it  constantly 
is  asserted,  that  the  gold  standard  will  enable  us 
to  borrow  more  money  from  abroad,  I  reply  that 
the  restoration  of  bimetallism  will  restore  the 
parity  between  money  and  property,  and  thus 
permit  an  era  of  prosperity  which  will  enable  the 
American  people  to  become  loaners  of  money  in- 
stead of  perpetual  borrowers.  Even  if  we  desire 
to  borrow,  how  long  can  we  continue  borrowing 


379 

under  a  system  which,  by  lowering  the  value  of 
property,  weakens  the  foundation  upon  which 
credit  rests  ? 

Even  the  holders  of  fixed  investments,  though 

o 

they  gain  an  advantage  from  the  appreciation  of 
the  dollar,  certainly  see  the  injustice  of  the  legisla- 
tion which  gives  them  this  advantage  over  those 
whose  incomes  depend  upon  the  value  of  property 
and  products.  If  the  holders  of  fixed  investments 
will  not  listen  to  arguments  based  upon  justice 
and  equity,  I  appeal  to  them  to  consider  the  inter- 
ests of  posterity.  We  do  not  live  for  ourselves 
alone  ;  our  labor,  our  self-denial,  and  our  anxious 
care — all  these  are  for  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us  as  much  as  for  ourselves;  but  we  cannot 
protect  our  children  beyond  the  period  of  our 
lives.  Let  those  who  are  now  reaping  advantage 
from  a  vicious  financial  system  remember  that,  in 
the  years  to  come,  their  own  children  and  chil- 
dren's children  may,  through  the  operation  of  this 
same  system,  be  made  to  pay  tribute  to  the  de- 
Iscendants  of  those  who  are  wronged  to-day. 

As  against  the  maintenance  of  a  gold  standard, 
either  permanently  or  until  other  nations  can  be 
united  for  its  overthrow,  the  Chicago  platform  pre- 
sents a  clear  and  emphatic  demand  for  the  imme- 
diate restoration  of  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage 
of  silver  and  gold  at  the  present  legal  ratio  of  1 6 
to  i,  without  waiting  for  the  aid  or  consent  of  any 
other  nation.  We  are  not  asking  that  a  new  ex- 


periment  be  tried ;  we  are  insisting  upon  a  return 
to  a  financial  policy  approved  by  the  experience 
of  history  and  supported  by  all  the  prominent 
statesmen  of  our  nation  from  the  days  of  our  first 
President  down  to  1873.  When  we  ask  that  our 
mints  be  opened  to  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage 
of  silver  into  full  legal  tender  money,  we  are  simply 
asking  that  the  same  mint  privileges  be  accorded 
to  silver  that  are  now  accorded  to  gold.  When 
we  ask  that  this  coinage  be  at  the  rate  of  16  to  i, 
we  simply  ask  that  our  gold  coins  and  the  standard 
silver  dollar — which,  be  it  remembered,  contains 
the  same  amount  of  pure  silver  as  the  first  silver 
dollar  coined  at  our  mints — retain  their  present 
weight  and  fineness. 

The  theoretical  advantage  of  the  bimetallic  sys- 
tem is  best  stated  by  a  European  writer  on  political 
economy,  who  suggests  the  following  illustration : 
A  river  fed  from  two  sources  is  more  uniform  in 
volume  than  a  river  fed  from  one  source — the 
reason  being  that  when  one  of  the  feeders  is 
swollen  the  other  may  be  low ;  whereas,  a  river 
which  has  but  one  feeder  must  rise  or  fall  with 
that  feeder.  So  in  the  case  of  bimetallism  ;  the 
volume  of  metallic  money  receives  contributions 
from  both  the  gold  mines  and  the  silver  mines, 
and,  therefore,  varies  less ;  and  the  dollar,  resting 
upon  two  metals,  is  less  changeable  in  its  pur- 
chasing power  than  the  dollar  which  rests  on  one 
metal  only. 


38 1 

If  there  are  two  kinds  of  money,  the  option  must 
rest  either  with  the  debtor  or  with  the  creditor. 
Assuming  that  their  rights  are  equal,  we  must 
look  at  the  interests  of  society  in  general  in  order 
to  determine  to  which  side  the  option  should  be 
given.  Under  the  bimetallic  system,  gold  and 
silver  are  linked  together  by  law  at  a  fixed  ratio, 
and  any  person  or  persons  owing  any  quantity  of 
either  metal  can  have  the  same  converted  into 
full  legal-tender  money.  If  the  creditor  has  the 
right  to  choose  the  metal  in  which  payment  shall 
be  made,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  will 
require  the  debtor  to  pay  in  the  dearer  metal  if 
there  is  any  perceptible  difference  between  the 
bullion  values  of  the  metals.  This  new  demand 
created  for  the  dearer  metal  will  make  that  metal 
dearer  still,  while  the  decreased  demand  for  the 
cheaper  metal  will  make  that  metal  cheaper  still. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  debtor  exercises  the 
option,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  will  pay 
in  the  cheaper  metal  if  one  metal  is  perceptibly 
cheaper  than  the  other ;  but  the  demand  thus  cre- 
ated for  the  cheaper  metal  will  raise  its  price, 
while  the  lessened  demand  for  the  dearer  metal 
will  lower  its  price.  In  other  words,  when  the 
creditor  has  the  option,  the  metals  are  drawn 
apart ;  whereas,  when  the  debtor  has  the  option, 
the  metals  are  held  together  approximately  at  the 
ratio  fixed  by  law ;  provided  the  demand  created 


is  sufficient  to  absorb  all  of  both  metals  presented 
at  the  mint. 

Society  is,  therefore,  interested  in  having  the 
option  exercised  by  the  debtor.  Indeed,  there 
can  be  no  such  thing  as  real  bimetallism  unless 
the  option  is  exercised  by  the  debtor.  The  exer- 
cise of  the  option  by  the  debtor  compels  the 
creditor  classes,  whether  domestic  or  foreign,  to 

o      9 

exert  themselves  to  maintain  the  parity  between 
gold  and  silver  at  the  legal  ratio,  whereas  they 
might  find  a  profit  in  driving  one  of  the  metals  to 
a  premium  if  they  could  then  demand  the  dearer 
metal.  The  right  of  the  debtor  to  choose  the 
coin  in  which  payment  shall  be  made  extends  to 
obligations  due  from  the  government  as  well  as 

O  O 

to  contracts  between  individuals.  A  government 
obligation  is  simply  a  debt  due  from  all  the  people 
to  one  of  the  people,  and  it  is  impossible  to  justify 
a  policy  which  makes  the  interests  of  the  one  per- 
son who  holds  the  obligation  superior  to  the  rights 
of  the  many  who  must  be  taxed  to  pay  it.  When, 
prior  to  1873,  silver  was  at  a  premium,  it  was 
never  contended  that  national  honor  required  the 
payment  of  government  obligations  in  silver,  and 
the  Matthews  resolution,  adopted  by  Congress  in 
1878,  expressly  asserted  the  right  of  the  United 
States  to  redeem  coin  obligations  in  standard 
silver  dollars  as  well  as  in  gold  coin. 

Upon  this  subject  the  Chicago  platform  reads  : 
'We  are  opposed  to  the  policy  and  practice  of 


surrendering  to  the  holders  of  the  obligations  of 
the  United  States  the  option  reserved  by  law  to 
the  government  of  redeeming  such  obligations  in 
either  silver  coin  or  gold  coin." 

It  is  constantly  assumed  by  some  that  the 
United  States  notes,  commonly  called  greenbacks, 
and  the  Treasury  notes,  issued  under  the  act  of 
1890,  are  responsible  for  the  recent  drain  upon 
the  gold  reserve,  but  this  assumption  is  entirely 
without  foundation.  Secretary  Carlisle  appeared 
before  the  House  Committee  on  Appropriations, 
on  January  21,  1895,  a°d  I  quote  from  the  printed 
report  of  his  testimony  before  the  Committee  : 

"  Mr.  Sibley :  I  would  like  to  ask  you  (perhaps 
not  entirely  connected  with  the  matter  under  dis- 
cussion) what  objection  there  could  be  to  having 
the  option  of  redeeming  either  in  silver  or  gold 
lie  with  the  Treasury  instead  of  the  note  holder  ? 

"  Secretary  Carlisle :  If  that  policy  had  been 
adopted  at  the  beginning  of  resumption — and  I 
am  not  saying  this  for  the  purpose  of  criticising 
the  action  of  any  of  my  predecessors,  or  anybody 
else — but  if  the  policy  of  reserving  to  the  govern- 
ment, at  the  beginning  of  resumption,  the  option 
of  redeeming  in  gold  or  silver  all  its  paper  pre- 
sented, I  believe  it  would  have  worked  beneficially, 
and  there  would  have  been  no  trouble  growing 
out  of  it,  but  the  Secretaries  of  the  Treasury  from 
the  beginning  of  resumption  have  pursued  a  pol- 
icy of  redeeming  in  gold  or  silver,  at  the  option 


384 

of  the  holder  of  the  paper,  and  if  any  Secretary 
had  afterwards  attempted  to  change  that  policy 
and  force  silver  upon  a  man  who  wanted  gold,  or 
gold  upon  a  man  who  wanted  silver,  and  espe- 
cially if  he  had  made  that  attempt  at  such  a  critical 
period  as  we  have  had  in  the  last  two  years,  my 
judgment  is  it  would  have  been  very  disastrous." 

I  do  not  agree  with  the  Secretary  that  it  was 
wise  to  follow  a  bad  precedent,  but  from  his  an- 
swer it  will  be  seen  that  the  fault  does  not  lie  with 
the  greenbacks  and  Treasury  notes,  but  rather 
with  the  executive  officers  who  have  seen  fit  to 
surrender  a  right  which  should  have  been  exer- 
cised for  the  protection  of  the  interests  of  the 
people.  This  executive  action  has  already  been 
made  the  excuse  for  the  issue  of  more  than  $250,- 
000,000  in  bonds,  and  it  is  impossible  to  estimate 
the  amount  of  bonds  which  may  hereafter  be 
issued  if  this  policy  is  continued.  We  are  told 
that  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  government 
at  this  time  to  redeem  its  obligations  in  silver 
would  put  a  premium  upon  gold,  but  why  should 
it  ?  The  Bank  of  France  exercises  the  right  to 
redeem  all  bank  paper  in  either  gold  or  silver, 
and  yet  France  maintains  the  parity  between  gold 
and  silver  at  the  ratio  of  15^  to  i,  and  retains 
in  circulation  more  silver  per  capita  than  we  do  in 
the  United  States. 

It  may  be  further  answered  that  our  opponents 
have  suggested  no  feasible  plan  for  avoiding  the 


385 

dangers  which  they  fear.  The  retirement  of  the 
greenbacks  and  Treasury  notes  would  not  protect 
the  Treasury,  because  the  same  policy  which  now 
leads  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  redeem  all 
Government  paper  in  gold,  when  gold  is  de- 
manded, will  require  the  redemption  of  all  silver 
dollars  and  silver  certificates  in  gold,  if  the  green- 
backs and  Treasury  notes  are  withdrawn  from 
circulation.  More  than  this,  if  the  Government 
should  retire  its  paper  and  throw  upon  the  banks 
the  necessity  of  furnishing  coin  redemption,  the 
banks  would  exercise  the  right  to  furnish  either 
gold  or  silver.  In  other  words,  they  would  exer- 
cise the  option,  just  as  the  Government  ought  to 
exercise  it  now.  The  Government  must  either 
exercise  the  right  to  redeem  its  obligations  in  sil- 
ver when  silver  is  more  convenient,  or  it  must  re- 
tire all  the  silver  and  silver  certificates  from  cir- 
culation and  leave  nothing  but  gold  as  legal  tender 
money.  Are  our  opponents  willing  to  outline  a 
financial  system  which  will  carry  out  their  policy 
to  its  legitimate  conclusion,  or  will  they  continue 
to  cloak  their  designs  in  ambiguous  phrases  ? 

There  is  an  actual  necessity  for  bimetallism  as 
well  as  a  theoretical  defence  of  it.     During  the 

o 

last  twenty-three  years  legislation  has  been  creat- 
ing an  additional  demand  for  gold,  and  this  law- 
created  demand  has  resulted  in  increasing  the 
purchasing  power  of  each  ounce  of  gold.  The 
restoration  of  bimetallism  in  the  United  States 


386 

will  take  away  from  gold  just  so  much  of  its  pur- 
chasing power  as  was  added  to  it  by  the  demone- 
tization of  silver  by  the  United  States.  The 
silver  dollar  is  now  held  up  to  the  gold  dollar  by 
legal  tender  laws  and  not  by  redemption  in  gold, 
because  the  standard  silver  dollars  are  not  now 
redeemable  in  gold  either  in  law  or  by  administra- 
tive policy. 

We  contend  that  free  and  unlimited  coinage 
by  the  United  States  alone  will  raise  the  bullion 
value  of  silver  to  its  coinage  value,  and  this  make 
silver  bullion  worth  $1.29  per  ounce  in  gold 
throughout  the  world.  This  proposition  is  in 
keeping  with  natural  laws,  not  in  defiance  of  them. 
The  best-known  law  of  commerce  is  the  law  of 
supply  and  demand.  We  recognize  this  law  and 
build  our  argument  upon  it.  We  apply  this  law 
to  money  when  we  say  that  a  reduction  in  the 
volume  of  money  will  raise  the  purchasing  power 
of  the  dollar  ;  we  also  apply  the  law  of  supply 
and  demand  to  silver  when  we  say  that  a  new  de- 
mand for  silver  created  by  law  will  raise  the  price 
of  silver  bullion.  Gold  and  silver  are  different 
from  other  commodities,  in  that  they  are  limited 
in  quantity.  Corn,  wheat,  manufactured  products, 
etc.,  can  be  produced  almost  without  limit,  pro- 
vided they  can  be  sold  at  a  price  sufficient  to 
stimulate  production,  but  gold  and  silver  are 
called  precious  metals,  because  they  are  found, 
not  produced,  These  metals  have  been  the  ob- 


38; 

jects  of  anxious  search  as  far  back  as  history 
runs,  yet,  according  to  Mr.  Harvey's  calculation, 
all  the  gold  coin  of  the  world  can  be  melted  into  a 
22-foot  cube,  and  all  the  silver  in  the  world  into  a 
66-foot  cube.  Because  gold  and  silver  are  limited, 

o 

both  in  the  quantity  now  in  hand  and  in  annual 
production,  it  follows  that  legislation  can  fix  the 
ratio  between  them. 

Any  purchaser  who  stands  ready  to  take  the 
entire  supply  of  any  given  article  at  a  certain 
price  can  prevent  that  article  from  falling  below 
that  price.  So  the  government  can  fix  a  price  for 
gold  and  silver  by  creating  a  demand  greater  than 
the  supply.  International  bimetallists  believe  that 
several  nations,  by  entering  into  an  agreement  to 
coin  at  a  fixed  ratio  all  the  gold  and  silver  pre- 
sented, can  maintain  the  bullion  value  of  the 
metals  at  the  mint  ratio.  When  a  mint  price  is 
thus  established,  it  regulates  the  bullion  price,  be- 
cause any  person  desiring  coin  may  have  the  bul- 
lion converted  into  coin  at  that  price,  and  any 
person  desiring  bullion  can  secure  it  by  melting 
the  coin.  The  only  question  upon  which  inter- 
national bimetallists  differ  is :  Can  the  United 
States  by  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver 
at  the  present  legal  ratio  create  a  demand  for 
silver  which,  taken  in  connection  with  the  demand 
already  in  existence,  will  be  sufficient  to  utilize  all 
the  silver  that  will  be  presented  at  the  mints  ? 
They  agree  in  their  defence  of  the  bimetallic  prin- 


388 

ciple,  and  they  agree  in  unalterable  opposition  to 
the  gold  standard.  International  bimetallists  can- 

o 

not  complain  that  free  coinage  gives  a  benefit  to 
the  mine  owner,  because  international  bimetallism 
gives  to  the  owner  of  silver  all  the  advantages 
offered  by  independent  bimetallism  at  the  same 
ratio.  International  bimetallists  cannot  accuse 
the  advocates  of  free  silver  of  being  "  bullion 
owners  who  desire  to  raise  the  value  of  their  bul- 
lion ; "  or  "  debtors  who  desire  to  pay  their  debts 
in  cheap  dollars  ;  "  or  "  demagogues  who  desire  to 
curry  favor  with  the  people."  They  must  rest 
their  opposition  upon  one  ground  only,  namely: 
That  the  supply  of  silver  available  for  coinage  is 
too  large  to  be  utilized  by  the  United  States. 

In  discussing  the  question  we  must  consider  the 
capacity  of  our  people  to  use  silver  and  the 
quantity  of  silver  which  can  come  to  our  mints. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  we  live  in  a  country 
only  partially  developed,  and  that  our  people  far 
surpass  any  equal  number  of  people  in  the  world 
in  their  power  to  consume  and  produce.  Our 
extensive  railroad  development  and  enormous 
internal  commerce  must  also  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration. Now,  how  much  silver  can  come 
here  ?  Not  the  coined  silver  of  the  world,  be- 
cause almost  all  of  it  is  more  valuable  at  this 
time  in  other  lands  than  it  will  be  at  our  mints 
under  free  coinage.  If  our  mints  are  opened  to 
free  and  unlimited  coinage  at  the  present  ratio. 


389 

merchandise  silver  cannot  come  here,  because  the 
labor  applied  to  it  has  made  it  worth  more  in  the 
form  of  merchandise  than  it  will  be  worth  at  our 
mints.  We  cannot  even  expect  all  of  the  annual 
product  of  silver,  because  India,  China,  Japan, 
Mexico  and  all  the  other  silver-using  countries 
must  satisfy  their  annual  needs  from  the  annual 
product ;  the  arts  will  require  a  large  amount,  and 
the  gold  standard  countries  will  need  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  subsidiary  coinage.  We  will  be 
required  to  coin  only  that  which  is  not  needed 
elsewhere ;  but,  if  we  stand  ready  to  take  and 
utilize  all  of  it,  other  nations  will  be  compelled  to 
buy  at  the  price  which  we  fix.  Many  fear  that 
the  opening  of  our  mints  will  be  followed  by  an 
enormous  increase  in  the  annual  production  of 
silver.  This  is  conjecture.  Silver  has  been  used 
as  money  for  thousands  of  years,  and  during  all 
that  time  the  world  has  never  suffered  from  over- 
production. If,  for  any  reason,  the  supply  of  gold 
or  silver  in  the  future  ever  exceeds  the  require- 
ments of  the  arts  and  the  needs  of  commerce,  we 
confidently  hope  that  the  intelligence  of  the  people 
will  be  sufficient  to  devise  and  enact  any  legisla- 
tion necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  public. 
It  is  folly  to  refuse  the  people  the  money  which 
they  now  need  for  fear  they  may  hereafter  have 
more  than  they  need.  I  am  firmly  convinced  that 
by  opening  our  mints  to  free  and  unlimited  coin- 
age at  the  present  ratio  we  can  create  a  demand 


39° 

for  silver  which  will  keep  the  price  of  silver 
bullion  at  $1.29  per  ounce,  measured  by  gold. 

Some  of  our  opponents  attribute  the  fall  in  the 
value  of  silver,  when  measured  by  gold,  to  the 
fact  that  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  the 
world's  supply  of  silver  has  increased  more 
rapidly  than  the  world's  supply  of  gold.  This 
argument  is  entirely  answered  by  the  fact,  that 
during  the  last  five  years,  the  annual  production 
of  gold  has  increased  more  rapidly  than  the 
annual  production  of  silver.  Since  the  gold  price 
of  silver  has  fallen  more  during  the  last  five  years 
than  it  ever  fell  in  any  previous  five  years  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  it  is  evident  that  the  fall  is 
not  due  to  increased  production.  Prices  can  be 
lowered  as  effectually  by  decreasing  the  demand 
for  an  article  as  by  increasing  the  supply  of  it, 
and  it  seems  certain  that  the  fall  in  the  gold  price 
of  silver  is  due  to  hostile  legislation  and  not  to 
natural  laws. 

Our  opponents  cannot  ignore  the  fact  that  gold 
is  now  going  abroad  in  spite  of  all  legislation 
intended  to  prevent  it,  and  no  silver  is  being 
coined  to  take  its  place.  Not  only  is  gold  going 
abroad  now,  but  it  must  continue  to  go  abroad  as 
long  as  the  .present  financial  policy  is  adhered  to, 
unless  we  continue  to  borrow  from  across  the 
ocean,  and  even  then  we  simply  postpone  the 
evil,  because  the  amount  borrowed,  together  with 
interest  upon  it,  must  be  repaid  in  appreciating 


dollars.  The  American  people  now  owe  a  large 
sum  to  European  creditors,  and  falling  prices 
have  left  a  larger  and  larger  margin  between  our 
net  national  income  and  our  annual  interest 
charge.  There  is  only  one  way  to  stop  the  in-, 
creasing  flow  of  gold  from  our  shores,  and  that  is  to 
stop  falling  prices.  The  restoration  of  bimetallism 
will  not  only  stop  falling  prices,  but  will — to  some 
extent,  restore  prices  by  reducing  the  world's  de- 
mand for  gold.  If  it  is  argued  that  a  rise  in  prices 
lessens  the  value  of  the  dollars  which  we  pay  to  our 
creditors,  I  reply  that,  in  the  balancing  of  equities 
the  American  people  have  as  much  right  to  favor 
a  financial  system  which  will  maintain  or  restore 
prices  as  foreign  creditors  have  to  insist  upon  a 
financial  system  that  will  reduce  prices.  But  the 
interests  of  society  are  far  superior  to  the  inter- 
ests of  either  debtors  or  creditors,  and  the  interests 
of  society  demand  a  financial  system  which  will 
add  to  the  volume  of  the  standard  money  of  the 
world,  and  thus  restore  stability  to  prices. 

Perhaps  the  most  persistent  misrepresentation 
that  we  have  to  meet  is  the  charge  that  we  are 
advocating  the  payment  of  debts  in  fifty-cent 
dollars.  At  the  present  time  and  under  present 
laws,  a  silver  dollar,  when  melted,  loses  nearly 
half  its  value,  but  that  will  not  be  true  when  we 
again  establish  a  mint  price  for  silver  and  leave 
no  surplus  upon  the  market  to  drag  down  the 
price  of  bullion.  Under  bimetallism,  silver  bullion 


392 

will  be  worth  as  much  as  silver  coin,  just  as  gold 
bullion  is  now  worth  as  much  as  gold  coin,  and 
we  believe  that  a  silver  dollar  will  be  worth  as 
much  as  a  gold  dollar. 

The  charge  of  repudiation  comes  with  poor 
grace  from  those  who  are  seeking  to  add  to  the 
weight  of  existing  debts  by  legislation  which 
makes  money  dearer,  and  who  conceal  their  de- 
signs against  the  general  welfare  under  the 
euphonious  pretence  that  they  are  upholding 
public  credit  and  national  honor. 

In  answer  to  the  charge  that  gold  will  go  abroad, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  no  gold  can  leave 
this  country  until  the  owner  of  the  gold  receives 
something  in  return  for  it,  which  he  would  rather 
have.  In  other  words,  when  gold  leaves  the 
country,  those  who  formerly  owned  it  will  be  bene- 
fitted.  There  is  no  process  by  which  we  can  be 
compelled  to  part  with  our  gold  against  our  will, 
nor  is  there  any  process  by  which  silver  can  be 
forced  upon  us  without  our  consent.  Exchanges 
are  matters  of  agreement,  and  if  silver  comes  to 
this  country  under  free  coinage  it  will  be  at  the 
invitation  of  some  one  in  this  country  who  will 
give  something  in  exchange  for  it. 

Those  who  deny  the  ability  of  the  United 
States  to  maintain  the  parity  between  gold  and 
silver  at  the  present  legal  ratio  without  foreign 
aid  point  to  Mexico  and  assert  that  the  opening 
of  our  mints  will  reduce  us  to  a  silver  basis  and 


393 

raise  gold  to  a  premium.  It  is  no  reflection  upon 
our  sister  Republic  to  remind  our  people  that  the 
United  States  is  much  greater  than  Mexico  in 
area,  in  population  and  in  commercial  strength. 
It  is  absurd  to  assert  that  the  United  States  is  not 
able  to  do  anything  which  Mexico  has  failed  to 
accomplish.  The  one  thing  necessary  in  order  to 
maintain  the  parity  is  to  furnish  a  demand  great 
enough  to  utilize  all  the  silver  which  will  come  to 
the  mints.  That  Mexico  has  failed  to  do  this  is 
not  proof  that  the  United  States  would  also  fail. 

It  is  also  argued  that,  since  a  number  of  nations 
have  demonetized  silver,  nothing  can  be  done 
until  all  of  those  nations  restore  bimetallism. 
This  is  also  illogical.  It  is  immaterial  how  many 
or  how  few  nations  have  open  mints,  provided 
there  are  sufficient  open  mints  to  furnish  a  mone- 
tary demand  for  all  the  gold  and  silver  available 
for  coinage. 

In  reply  to  the  argument  that  improved  ma- 
chinery has  lessened  the  cost  of  producing  silver, 
it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  same  is  true  of  the 
production  of  gold,  and  yet,  notwithstanding  that, 
gold  has  risen  in  value.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
cost  of  production  does  not  determine  the  value 
of  the  precious  metals,  except  as  it  may  affect  the 
supply.  If,  for  instance,  the  cost  of  producing 
gold  should  be  reduced  to  90  per  cent,  without 
any  increase  in  the  output,  the  purchasing  power 
of  an  ounce  of  gold  would  not  fall.  So  long  as 


394 

there  is  a  monetary  demand  sufficient  to  take  at  a 
fixed  mint  price  all  of  the  gold  and  silver  pro- 
duced, the  cost  of  production  need  not  be  con- 
sidered. 

It  is  often  objected  that  the  prices  of  gold  and 
silver  cannot  be  fixed  in  relation  to  each  other, 
because  of  the  variation  in  the  relative  production 
of  the  metals.  This  argument  also  overlooks  the 
fact  that,  if  the  demand  for  both  metals  at  a  fixed 
price  is  greater  than  the  supply  of  both,  relative 
production  becomes  immaterial.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  present  century  the  annual  production 
of  silver  was  worth  at  the  coinage  ratio,  about 
three  times  as  much  as  the  annual  production  of 
gold;  whereas,  soon  after  1849,  the  annual  pro- 
duction of  gold  became  worth  about  three  times 
as  much,  at  the  coinage  ratio,  as  the  annual  pro- 
duction of  silver;  and,  yet,  owing  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  bimetallic  standard,  these  enormous 
changes  in  relative  production  had  but  a  slight 
effect  upon  the  relative  values  of  the  metals. 

If  it  is  asserted  by  our  opponents  that  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  is  intended  only  for  the  benefit 
of  the  mine  owners,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
free  coinage  cannot  restore  to  the  mine  owners 
any  more  than  demonetization  took  away ;  and  it 
must  also  be  remembered  that  the  loss  which  the 
demonetization  of  silver  has  brought  to  the  mine 
owners  is  insignificant  compared  to  the  loss  which 
this  policy  has  brought  to  the  rest  of  the  people. 


395 

The  restoration  of  silver  will  bring  to  the  people 
generally  many  times  as  much  advantage  as  the 
mine  owners  can  obtain  from  it.  While  it  is  not 
the  purpose  of  free  coinage  to  specially  aid  any 
particular  class,  yet  those  who  believe  that  the 
restoration  of  silver  is  needed  by  the  whole 
people  should  not  be  dettered  because  an  inci- 
dental benefit  will  come  to  the  mine  owners.  The 
erection  of  forts,  the  deepening  of  harbors,  the 
improvement  of  rivers,  the  erection  of  public 
buildings — all  these  confer  incidental  benefits 
upon  individuals  and  communities,  and  yet  these 
incidental  benefits  do  not  deter  us  from  making 
appropriations  for  these  purposes  whenever  such 
appropriations  are  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

The  argument  that  a  silver  dollar  is  heavier 
than  a  gold,  and  that,  therefore,  silver  is  less  con- 
venient to  carry  in  large  quantities,  is  completely 
answered  by  the  silver  certificate,  which  is  as 
easily  carried  as  the  gold  certificate  or  any  other 
kind  of  paper  money. 

There  are  some,  who,  while  admitting  the  bene- 
fits of  bimetallism,  object  to  coinage  at  the  pre- 
sent ratio.  If  any  are  deceived  by  this  objection, 
they  ought  to  remember  that  there  are  no  bi- 
metallists  who  are  earnestly  endeavoring  to  secure 
it  at  any  other  ratio  than  1 6  to  i .  We  are  op- 
posed to  any  change  in  the  ratio  for  two  reasons — 
first,  because  a  change  would  produce  great  in- 
justice ;  and,  second,  because  a  change  in  the 


396 

ratio  is  not  necessary.  A  change  would  produce 
injustice,  because,  if  effected  in  the  manner 
usually  suggested,  it  would  result  in  an  enormous 
contraction  in  the  volume  of  standard  money. 

If,  for  instance,  it  was  decided  by  international 
agreement  to  raise  the  ratio  throughout  the 
world  to  32  to  i,  the  change  might  be  effected  in 
any  one  of  three  ways  : 

The  silver  dollar  could  be  doubled  in  size,  so 
that  the  new  silver  dollar  would  weigh  thirty-two 
times  as  much  as  the  present  gold  dollar ;  or  the 
present  gold  dollar  could  be  reduced  one-half  in 
weight,  so  that  the  present  silver  dollar  would 
weigh  thirty-two  times  as  much  as  the  new  gold 
dollar ;  or  the  change  could  be  made  by  increas- 
ing the  size  of  the  silver  dollar  and  decreasing 
the  size  of  the  o-old  dollar  until  the  new  silver 

o 

dollar  would  weigh  thirty-two  times  as  much  as 
the  new  gold  dollar. 

Those  who  have  advised  a  change  in  the  ratio 
have  usually  suggested  that  silver  dollars  be 
doubled.  If  this  change  were  made  it  would 
necessitate  the  recoinage  of  four  billions  of  silver 
into  two  billions  of  dollars.  There  would  be  an 
immediate  loss  of  two  billions  of  dollars  either  to 
individuals  or  to  the  government,  but  this  would 

o 

be  the  least  of  the  injury.  A  shrinkage  of  one- 
half  in  the  silver  money  of  the  world  would  mean 
a  shrinkage  of  one-fourth  in  the  total  volume  of 
metallic  money.  This  contraction,  by  increasing 


397 

the  value  of  the  dollar,  would  virtually  increase 
the  debts  of  the  world  billions  of  dollars,  and 
decrease  still  more  the  value  of  the  property  of 
the  world,  as  measured  by  dollars.  Besides  this 
immediate  result,  such  a  change  in  the  ratio  would 
permanently  decrease  the  annual  addition  to  the 
world's  supply  of  money,  because  the  annual 
silver  product,  when  coined  into  dollars  twice  as 
large,  would  make  only  half  as  many  dollars. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  would  be 
injured  by  a  change  in  the  ratio,  not  because  they 
produce  silver,  but  because  they  own  property 
and  owe  debts,  and  they  cannot  afford  to  thus 
decrease  the  value  of  their  property  or  increase 
the  burden  of  their  debts. 

In  1878  Mr.  Carlisle  said:  "Mankind  will  be 
fortunate,  indeed,  if  the  annual  production  of 
gold  and  silver  coin  will  keep  pace  with  the  annual 
increase  of  population  and  industry."  I  repeat 
this  assertion.  All  of  the  gold  and  silver  annually 
available  for  coinage,  when  converted  into  coin  at 
the  present  ratio,  will  not,  in  my  judgment,  more 
than  supply  our  monetary  needs. 

In  supporting  the  act  of  1890,  known  as  the 
Sherman  Act,  Senator  Sherman  on  June  5th  of 
that  year,  said : 

"  Under  the  law  of  February,  1878,  the  purchase 
of  $2,000,000  worth  of  silver  bullion  a  month 
has  by  coinage  produced  annually  an  average  of 
nearly  $3,000,000  per  month  for  a  period  of  twelve 


398 

years,  but  this  amount,  in  view  of  the  retirement 
of  the  bank  notes,  will  not  increase  our  currency 
in  propo'rtion  to  our  increasing  population.  If  our 
present  currency  is  estimated  at  $1,400,000,000 
and  our  population  is  increasing  at  the  ratio  of  3  per 
cent,  per  annum,  it  would  require  $42,000,000  in- 
creased circulation,  each  year,  to  keep  pace  with 
the  increase  of  population  ;  but,  as  the  increase 
of  population  is  accompanied  by  a  still  greater 
ratio  of  increase  of  wealth  and  business,  it  was 
thought  that  an  immediate  increase  of  circulation 
might  be  obtained  by  larger  purchases  of  silver 
bullion  to  an  amount  sufficient  to  make  good  the 
retirement  of  bank  notes  and  keep  pace  with  the 
growth  of  population.  Assuming  that  $54,000,000 
a  year  additional  currency  is  needed  upon  this 
basis,  that  amount  is  provided  for  in  this  bill  by 
the  issue  of  Treasury  notes  in  exchange  for 
bullion  at  the  market  price." 

If  the  United  States  then  needed  more  than 
$42,000,000  annually  to  keep  pace  with  popula- 
tion and  business,  it  now,  with  a  larger  population, 
needs  a  still  greater  annual  addition;  and  the 
United  States  is  only  one  nation  among  many. 
Our  opponents  make  no  adequate  provision  for 
the  increasing  monetary  needs  of  the  world. 

In  the  second  place,  a  change  in  the  ratio  is  not 
necessary.  Hostile  legislation  has  decreased  the 
demand  for  silver  and  lowered  its  price  when 
measured  by  gold,  while  this  same  hostile  legisla- 


399 

tion,  by  increasing  the  demand  for  gold,  has  raised 
the  value  of  gold  when  measured  by  other  forms 
of  property. 

We  are  told  that  the  restoration  of  bimetallism 
would  be  a  hardship  upon  those  who  have  entered 
into  contracts  payable  in  gold  coin,  but  this  is  a 
mistake.  It  will  be  easier  to  obtain  the  gold  with 
which  to  meet  a  gold  contract,  when  most  of  the 
people  use  silver,  than  it  is  now,  when  every  one 
is  trying  to  secure  gold. 

The  Chicago  platform  expressly  declares  in 
favor  of  such  legislation  as  may  be  necessary  to 
prevent,  for  the  future,  the  demonetization  of  any 
kind  of  legal  tender  money  by  private  contract. 
Such  contracts  are  objected  to  on  the  ground  that 
they  are  against  public  policy.  No  one  questions 
the  right  of  legislatures  to  fix  the  rate  of  interest 
which  can  be  collected  by  law ;  there  is  far  more 
reason  for  preventing  private  individuals  from 
setting  aside  legal  tender  law.  The  money  which 
is  by  law  made  a  legal  tender  must,  in  the  course 
of  ordinary  business,  be  accepted  by  ninety-nine 
out  of  every  hundred  persons.  Why  should  the 
hundredth  man  be  permitted  to  exempt  himself 
from  the  general  rule?  Special  contracts  have  a 
tendency  to  increase  the  demand  for  a  particular 
kind  of  money,  and  thus  force  it  to  a  premium. 
Have  not  the  people  a  right  to  say  that  a  com- 
paratively few  individuals  shall  not  be  permitted 
to  derange  the  financial  system  of  the  nation  in 


400 

order  to  collect  a  premium  in  case  they  succeed 
in  forcing  one  kind  of  money  to  a  premium? 

There  is  another  argument  to  which  I  ask  at- 
tention. Some  of  the  more  zealous  opponents  of 
free  coinage  point  to  the  fact  that  thirteen  months 
must  elapse  between  the  election  and  the  first 
regular  session  of  Congress,  and  assert  that  dur- 
ing that  time,  in  case  people  declare  themselves 
in  favor  of  free  coinage,  all  loans  will  be  with- 
drawn and  all  mortgages  foreclosed.  If  these  are 
merely  prophecies  indulged  in  by  those  who  have 
forgotten  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution,  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  remind  them  that  the  President  is 
empowered  to  convene  Congress  in  extraordinary 
session  whenever  the  public  good  requires  such 
action.  If,  in  November,  the  people  by  their  bal- 
lots declare  themselves  in  favor  of  the  immediate 
restoration  of  bimetallism,  the  system  can  be  in- 
augurated within  a  few  months. 

o 

If,  however,  the  assertion  that  loans  will  be  with- 
drawn and  mortgages  foreclosed  is  made  to  prevent 
such  political  action  as  the  people  may  believe 
to  be  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  their  rights, 
then  a  new  and  vital  issue  is  raised.  Whenever 
it  is  necessary  for  the  people  as  a  whole  to  ob- 
tain consent  from  the  owners  of  money  and  the 
changers  of  money  before  they  can  legislate  upon 
financial  questions,  we  shall  have  passed  from  a 
democracy  to  a  plutocracy.  But  that  time  has 
not  yet  arrived.  Threats  and  intimidation  will  be 


401 

of  no  avail.  The  people  who,  in  1876,  rejected 
the  doctrine  that  kings  rule  by  right  divine,  will 
not,  in  this  generation,  subscribe  to  a  doctrine 
that  money  is  omnipotent. 

In  conclusion  permit  me  to  say  a  word  in  re- 
gard to  international  bimetallism.  We  are  not 
opposed  to  an  international  agreement  looking  to 
the  restoration  of  bimetallism  throughout  the 

o 

world.  The  advocates  of  free  coinage  have  on 
all  occasions  shown  their  willingness  to  co-operate 
with  other  nations  in  the  reinstatement  of  silver, 
but  they  are  not  willing  to  await  the  pleasure  of 
other  governments  when  immediate  relief  is 
needed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
they  further  believe  that  independent  action  offers 
better  assurance  of  international  bimetallism  than 
servile  dependence  upon  foreign  aid.  For  more 
than  twenty  years  we  have  invited  the  assistance 
of  European  nations,  but  all  progress  in  the  di- 
rection of  international  bimetallism  has  been 
blocked  by  the  opposition  of  those  who  derive  a 
pecuniary  benefit  from  the  appreciation  of  gold. 
How  long  must  we  wait  for  bimetallism  to  be 
brought  to  us  by  those  who  profit  by  monometal- 
lism. If  the  double  standard  will  bring  benefits 
to  our  people,  who  will  deny  them  the  right  to 
enjoy  those  benefits.  If  our  opponents  would 
admit  the  right,  the  ability  and  the  duty  of  our 
people  to  act  for  themselves  on  all  public  ques- 
tions without  the  assistance  and  regardless  of  the 


402 

wishes  of  other  nations,  and  then  propose  the  re- 
medial legislation  which  they  consider  sufficient 
we  could  meet  them  in  the  field  of  honorable  de- 
bate ;  but,  when  they  assert  that  this  nation  is 
helpless  to  protect  the  rights  of  its  own  citizens, 
we  challenge  them  to  submit  the  issue  to  a  people 
whose  patriotism  has  never  been  appealed  to  in 
vain. 

We  shall  not  offend  other  nations  when  we  de- 
clare the  right  of  the  American  people  to  govern 
themselves,  and,  without  let  or  hindrance  from 
without,  decide  upon  every  question  presented  for 
their  consideration.  In  taking  this  position,  we 
simply  maintain  the  dignity  of  seventy  million 
citizens  who  are  second  to  none  in  their  capacity 
for  self-government. 

The  gold  standard  has  compelled  the  Ameri- 
can people  to  pay  an  ever-increasing  tribute  to 
the  creditor  nations  of  the  world — a  tribute  which 
no  one  dares  to  defend.  I  assert  that  national 
honor  requires  the  United  States  to  secure  justice 
for  all  its  citizens  as  well  as  do  justice  to  all  its 
creditors.  For  a  people  like  ours,  blest  with 
natural  resources  of  surpassing  richness,  to  pro- 
claim themselves  impotent  to  frame  a  financial 
system  suited  to  their  own  needs,  is  humiliating 
beyond  the  power  of  language  to  describe.  We 
cannot  enforce  respect  for  our  foreign  policy  so 
long  as  we  confess  ourselves  unable  to  frame  our 
own  financial  policy. 


403 

Honest  differences  of  opinion  have  always  ex- 
isted, and  ever  will  exist,  as  to  the  legislation  best 
calculated  to  promote  the  public  weal  ;  but,  when 
it  is  seriously  asserted  that  this  nation  must  bow 
to  the  dictation  of  other  nations  and  accept  the 
policies  which  they  insist  upon,  the  right  of  self- 
government  is  assailed,  and  until  that  question  is 
settled  all  other  questions  are  insignificant. 

Citizens  of  New  York :  I  have  travelled  from 
the  centre  of  the  continent  to  the  seaboard  that  I 
might,  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  campaign, 
bring  you  greeting  from  the  people  of  the  West 
and  South  and  assure  you  that  their  desire  is  not 
to  destroy  but  to  build  up.  They  invite  you  to 
accept  the  principles  of  a  living  faith  rather  than 
listen  to  those  who  preach  the  gospel  of  despair 
and  advise  endurance  of  the  ills  you  have.  The 
advocates  of  free  coinage  believe  that,  in  striving 
to  secure  the  immediate  restoration  of  bimetallism, 
they  are  laboring  in  your  behalf  as  well  as  in 
their  own  behalf.  A  few  of  your  people  may 
prosper  under  present  conditions,  but  the  perma- 
nent welfare  of  New  York  rests  upon  the  pro- 
ducers of  wealth.  This  great  city  is  built  upon 
the  commerce  of  the  nation  and  must  suffer  if 
that  commerce  is  impaired.  You  cannot  sell  un- 
less the  people  have  money  with  which  to  buy, 
and  they  cannot  obtain  the  money  with  which  to 
buy  unless  they  are  able  to  sell  their  products  at 
remunerative  prices.  Production  of  wealth  goes 


404 

before  the  exchange  of  wealth ;  those  who  create 
must  secure  a  profit  before  they  have  anything  to 
share  with  others.  You  cannot  afford  to  join  the 
moneychangers  in  supporting  a  financial  policy 
which,  by  destroying  the  purchasing  power  of  the 
products  of  toil,  must  in  the  end  discourage  the 
creation  of  wealth. 

I  ask,  I  expect,  your  co-operation.  It  is  true 
that  a  few  of  your  financiers  would  fashion  a  new 
figure — a  figure  representing  Columbia,  her  hands 
bound  fast  with  fetters  of  gold  and  her  face  turned 
toward  the  East,  appealing  for  assistance  to  those 
who  live  beyond  the  sea — but  this  figure  can  never 
express  your  idea  of  this  nation.  You  will  rather 
return  for  inspiration  to  the  heroic  statue  which 
guards  the  entrance  to  your  city — a  statue  as 
patriotic  in  conception  as  it  is  colossal  in  propor- 
tions. It  was  the  gracious  gift  of  a  sister  Repub- 
lic and  stands  upon  a  pedestal  which  was  built  by 
the  American  people.  That  figure,  Liberty  en- 
lio-htenino-  the  world,  is  emblematic  of  the  mission 

o  o 

of  our  nation  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
With  a  government  which  derives  its  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  secures  to  all 

o 

the  people  freedom  of  conscience,  freedom  of 
thought  and  freedom  of  speech,  guarantees  equal 
rights  to  all  and  promises  special  privileges  to 
none,  the  United  States  should  be  an  example  in 
all  that  is  good  and  the  leading  spirit  in  every 
movement  which  has  for  its  object  the  uplifting 
of  the  human  race. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

HON.   W.  J.  BRYAN'S    LETTER   ACCEPT- 
ING POPULIST  NOMINATION. 

Lincoln,  Neb.,  October  3,  1896. 

Hon.  William  V.  Allen,  Chairman,  and  others, 
members  of  the  Notification  Committee  of  the 
People's  Party — Gentlemen:  The  nomination  of 
the  People's  party  for  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States  has  been  tendered  me  in  such  a 
generous  spirit,  and  upon  such  honorable  terms, 
that  I  am  able  to  accept  the  same  without  depart- 
ing from  the  platform  adopted  by  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  at  Chicago. 

I  fully  appreciate  the  breadth  of  patriotism 
which  has  actuated  the  members  of  the  People's 
party  who,  in  order  to  consolidate  the  sentiment 
in  favor  of  bimetallism,  have  been  willing  to  go 
outside  of  party  lines  and  support  as  their  candi- 
date one  already  nominated  by  the  Democratic 
party  and  also  by  the  Silver  party. 

I  also  appreciate  the  fact  that  while,  during  all 
the  years  since  1873,  a  large  majority  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  and  a  considerable  minority  of  the 
Republican  party,  have  been  consistent  advocates 

405 


406 

of  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  at  the  present  ratio, 
yet  ever  since  the  organization  of  the  People's 
party  its  members  have  unanimously  supported 
such  coinage  as  the  only  means  of  restoring  bime- 
tallism. By  persistently  pointing  out  the  disastr- 
ous effects  of  a  gold  standard  and  protesting 
against  each  successive  step  towards  financial 
bondage,  the  Populists  have  exerted  an  important 
influence  in  awakening  the  public  to  a  realization 
of  the  Nation's  present  peril. 

In  a  time  like  this,  when  a  great  political  party 
is  attempting  to  surrender  the  right  to  legislate 
for  ourselves  upon  the  financial  question,  and  is 
seeking  to  bind  the  American  people  to  a  foreign 
monetary  system,  it  behooves  us  as  lovers  of  our 
country  and  friends  of  American  institutions  to 
lay  aside  for  the  present  such  differences  as  may 
exist  among  us  on  minor  questions,  in  order  that 
our  strength  may  be  united  in  a  supreme  effort  to 
wrest  the  Government  from  the  hands  of  those  | 
who  imagine  that  the  Nation's  finances  are  only 
secured  when  controlled  by  a  few  financiers  and 
that  national  honor  can  only  be  maintained  by 
servile  acquiescence  in  any  policy,  however  de- 
structive to  the  interests  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  which  foreign  creditors,  present  or 
prospective,  may  desire  to  force  upon  us. 

It  is  a  cause  of  congratulation  that  we  have  in 
this  campaign  not  only  the  support  of  Democrats, 
Populists  and  Republicans  who  have  all  along  be- 


407 

lieved  in  independent  bimetallism,  but  also  the 
active  co-operation  of  those  Democrats  and  Re- 
publicans who,  having  heretofore  waited  for  inter- 
national bimetallism,  now  join  with  us  rather  than 
trust  the  destinies  of  the  Nation  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  are  holding  out  the  delusive  hope  of 
foreign  aid,  while  they  labor  secretly  for  the  per- 
manent establishment  of  the  single  gold  standard. 
While  difficulties  always  arise  in  the  settlement 
of  the  details  of  any  plan  of  co-operation  between 
distinct  political  organizations,  I  am  sure  that  the 
advocates  of  bimetallism  are  so  intensely  in  earn- 
est that  they  will  be  able  to  devise  some  means 
by  which  the  free  silver  vote  may  be  concentrated 
upon  one  electoral  ticket  in  each  State.  To  se- 
cure this  result,  charity  towards  the  opinions  of 
others  and  liberality  on  the  part  of  all  is  necessary, 
but  honest  and  sincere  friends  who  are  working 

o 

towards  a  common  result  always  find  it  possible 
to  agree  upon  just  and  equitable  terms.  The 
American  people  have  proven  equal  to  every 
emergency  which  has  arisen  in  the  past,  and  I 
am  confident  that  in  the  present  emergency  there 
will  be  no  antagonism  between  the  various  regi- 
ments of  the  one  great  army  which  is  marching 
to  repel  an  invasion  more  dangerous  to  our  wel- 
fare than  an  army  with  banners.  Acknowledging 
with  gratitude  your  expressions  of  confidence  and 
good  will,  I  am,  very  truly  yours, 

W.  J.  BRYAN. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AT  LINCOLN,  NEB. 


Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  I  am  only  going  to 
talk  to  you  a  little  while.  There  are  others  here 
who  are  prepared  to  discuss  these  issues  of  the 
campaign  in  your  presence,  and  I  am  trying  to  do 
as  little  work  as  possible.  I  think  I  have  been 
doing  my  share  so  far  as  time  is  concerned  ;  but  I 
want  to  avoid  getting  tived  by  resting  before  I  get 
tired,  and,  therefore,  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to 
listen  to  me  but  a  short  time. 

It  is  now  just  about  one  month  since  I  left  Ne- 
braska and  turned  eastwaid.  It  has  been  an 
interesting  trip.  I  want  to  assure  you  that  the 
sentiment  in  favor  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver  is 
a  growing  sentiment.  (Applause.) 

It  far  surpassed  my  expectations  in  the  East, 
and  I  found  people,  the  producers  of  wealth,  the 
farmers  and  the  laborers,  who  are  joining  with 
you  to  free  themselves  from  the  domination  of 
those  financial  influences  which  have  controlled 
our  legislation  and  our  financial  policies.  You 
will  find  in  the  very  shadow  of  Wall  Street  as 
bitter  hatred  to  the  influences  from  which  you 
have  suffered  as  you  will  find  among  the  farmers 

of  Nebraska.     (Applause.) 
(408) 


409 

All  through  the  East  I  found  farmers,  who  had 
been  Republicans,  who  were  openly  supporting 
the  free  coinage  of  silver,  and  were  asserting  that 
they  had  as  much  right  to  attend  to  their  business 
as  the  New  York  banker  had  to  attend  to  his 
business.  Another  thing  I  noticed,  and  that  is 
the  intense  earnestness  that  characterizes  this 
campaign.  I  have  not  found  a  lukewarm  person 
anywhere.  Politics  is  a  serious  business  when 
you  confront  such  issues  as  confront  the  American 
people  now.  (Applause  and  cries  of  "That's 
right") 

I  don't  know  whether  all  of  you  fully  realize  the 
intensity  of  the  struggle  in  which  you  are  engaged. 
Our  opponents  began  the  campaign  by  asserting 
that  the  American  people  were  not  able  to  estab- 
lish bimetallism,  and  then,  when  they  found  there 
was  a  revolt  among  the  people  against  such  a 
policy,  they  commenced  a  system  of  coercion  and 
terrorism,  insisting  that  the  masses  of  the  people 
even  have  not  the  rig-lit  to  determine  what  kind 

o 

of  a  policy  they  want.      (Applause.)     This  terror- 
ism and  coercion  is  manifested  in  two  ways. 

In  the  first  place,  the  heads  of  many  great  cor- 
porations are  undertaking  to  compel  their  employes 
to  support  the  gold  standard.  (Cries  of  "  That 
is  so;  shame!")  My  friends,  if  the  heads  of  these 
corporations  assert  the  right  to  control  the  votes 
of  those  who  work  for  them,  then  we  have  pre- 
sented to  the  American  people  even  a  greater 


4io 

question  than  the  silver  question.  If  a  corpora- 
tion has  the  right  to  control  the  vote  of  an  employe 
on  one  question,  it  has  the  right  to  control  on 
every  question.  (Cries  of  "  Right  you  are.") 

These  corporations  were  not  constituted  for 
any  such  purpose.  They  are  creatures  of  law. 
Has  the  law  given  unto  these  corporations  any 
such  power  ?  No,  my  friends,  and  no  people  who 
love  their  government  will  ever  entrust  those 
powers  to  any  person  or  corporation.  If  a  corpo- 
ration is  not  invested  with  the  legal  right  to  vote 
those  employes  as  it  will,  then  the  corporation 
that  attempts  it  usurps  its  right,  and  becomes  a 
a  dangerous  power  in  a  free  country.  (Applause.) 

If  there  are  those  here  who  are  opposed  to  us 
on  the  money  question,  they  dare  not  approve  of 
the  conduct  of  those  corporations  that  are  attempt- 
ing to  coerce  their  employes.  We  may  be  the 
ones  to  suffer  now  ;  but  I  warn  you,  fellow  citizens, 
that  the  time  may  come  when  these  very  corpo- 
rations will  turn  themselves  against  you  and  your 
families  with  all  the  accumulated  power  that  your 
endorsement  of  their  conduct  now  will  give  them. 
(Applause.) 

Not  only  have  some  of  these  corporations  at- 
tempted to  coerce  their  employes,  but  the  great 
money  power  centered  in  New  York  has  been 
attempting  to  coerce  the  people  who  do  business 
with  it.  A  paper  a  few  days  ago  said  of  a  Mon- 
tana bank,  which  had  failed,  that  the  reason  given 


was  that  the  managers  of  the  bank  were  advo- 
cating free  silver,  and,  therefore,  the  New  York 
banks  refused  to  extend  credit  any  longer  and 
enforced  the  collection  of  notes  which  they  held, 
which  suspended  the  bank. 

My  friends,  do  you  think  you  are  under  a  gov- 
ernment of  the  people  ?  I  want  to  ask  you  what 
you  think  will  be  the  result  if  we  get  to  be  a  gov- 
ernment by  banks  ?  (Applause.)  If  we  could 
trust  our  affairs  to  a  New  York  banker  we  might 
endure  it  for  a  time ;  but  when  you  remember 
that  the  New  York  banker  is  under  the  control  of 
the  London  banker,  I  ask  you  to  reflect  before 
you  submit  the  destinies  of  a  free  people  to  a  few 
financiers.  (Applause.) 

We  had  a  failure  in  this  city  last  winter,  a  failure 
which,  in  my  judgment,  was  largely  due  to  the 
sale  of  bonds,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  Eastern 
banks  were  drawing  in  money  from  circulation, 
from  business,  from  the  channels  of  trade,  to  invest 
it  in  government  bonds.  If  you  have  a  financial 
policy  which  permits  a  few  financiers  to  close  your 
banks  at  will  and  swallow  up  your  deposits  and 
impoverish  your  people,  I  want  to  ask  you  if  it  is 
not  time  for  you  to  consider  whether  this  cannot 
be  stopped  ?  (Applause.) 

We  have  been  told  that  we  cannot  borrow 
money  from  abroad  unless  we  have  a  financial 
system  that  is  satisfactory  to  the  people  abroad. 
My  friends,  you  let  them  control  your  financial 


4I2 

system,  and  you  will  never  see  a  time  when  you 
can  get  out  of  the  clutches  of  those  who  are  domi- 
nating your  financial  policy.  (Great  applause.) 

I  assert  the  right  of  the  people  of  this  country 
to  have  their  own  financial  system  and  to  regulate 
their  own  affairs ;  and  if  foreign  people  do  not 
want  to  loan  money  to  us  under  these  conditions, 
we  will  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  the 

o 

conditions  will  be  so  favorable  that  we  soon  will 
have  money  to  loan  them.  (Applause.) 

In  my  humble  judgment,  a  proper  financial 
policy  for  the  last  twenty  years  would  have  left 
the  people  of  the  United  States  independent  of 
foreign  money.  Our  opponents  tell  us  they  want 
good  money.  So  do  we.  We  want  good  money 
as  much  as  they  do,  but  we  differ  as  to  what  good 
is.  They  want  a  dollar  so  good  that  those  who 
have  the  dollar  can  buy  a  great  deal  from  those 
who  need  dollars.  We  want  dollars  that  are  not 
so  good  that  we  can't  get  hold  of  them  when  we 
have  wheat  and  corn  to  sell.  (Applause  and  cries 
of  "  Good.") 

The  interest  of  the  farmer  is  not  the  same  as 
the  interest  of  the  money  changer.  They  tell  us 
not  to  array  one  class  of  society  against  another. 
We  do  not.  They  are  the  ones  who  are  arraying 
classes.  I  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
Republican  Committee  of  this  town  has  sent 
letters  to  lady  school  teachers  showing  them  what 


their  interest  in  the  question  is.  (Great  ap- 
plause.) 

In  calling  the  attention  of  the  school  teachers 
to  the  fact  that  a  gold  standard  gives  them  a 
salary  which  will  buy  more  and  more  all  the  time, 
they  neglect  to  say  that  the  more  the  salary  rises 
the  harder  it  is  for  the  taxpayer  to  pay  that  salary. 
(Applause.)  And,  more  than  that,  they  forget  to 
say  that  if  these  times  go  on  it  will  be  necessary 
to  cut  down  the  salaries  of  those  who  are  enjoying 
high  salaries  while  the  people  are  sinking  more 
and  more  into  debt. 

If  you  will  show  me  a  school  teacher  who,  be- 
cause of  a  salary  involved,  and  for  the  hope  of 
getting  larger  dollars  instead  of  more  dollars,  will 
favor  the  gold  standard  while  the  people  of  this 
county  and  State  are  suffering,  I  will  show  you  a 
school  teacher  who  does  not  deserve  a  place 
teaching  the  children  of  this  county.  (Applause.) 

Talk  about  arraying  one  class  against  another. 
I  want  to  ask  you  why  it  is  that  every  Democrat 
who  is  interested  in  a  syndicate  or  trust  or  has  a 
salary  from  a  railroad  corporation  is  arrayed 
against  the  Democratic  party.  Why  is  it  ?  It  is 
because  the  Democratic  party  has  declared 
against  the  issue  of  bonds  in  time  of  peace  and 
the  trafficking  with  syndicates.  (Cries  of  "  That's 
right").  It  is  because  the  Democratic  party  is 
opposed  to  the  trusts  and  the  prices  which  the 
trusts  have  instituted.  It  is  because  the  Demo- 


4H 

cratic  party  believes  in  the  control,  the  regulation 
and  the  restriction  of  all  corporations,  so  that 
they  will  serve  the  purposes  for  which  they  were 
allowed  to  exist.  (Great  applause). 

If  those  connected  with  trusts  are  flocking  to- 
gether in  the  Republican  party,  may  we  not  ap- 
peal to  all  the  smaller  business  men  who  have  felt 
the  iron  heel  of  the  trust  and  who  have  been 
driven  out  of  business  by  its  unlawful  compe- 
tition? (Applause).  If  we  are  to  lose  all  the 
attorneys  of  the  great  trusts — (A  voice,  "  Let 
them  go  ") — may  we  not  appeal  with  confidence 
to  the  support  of  the  people  who  have  been  plun- 
dered by  these  trusts  while  their  attorneys  have 
received  part  of  the  plunder?  (Applause  and 
cries  of  "  Yes  "  ). 

We  are  not  responsible  for  the  arraying  of  one 
class  against  another.  These  people — not  the 
producers  of  wealth,  but  the  exchangers  of 
wealth— are  those  who  try  to  array  a  class  against 
the  rest  of  the  people. 

The  Republican  platform  in  the  State  of  New 
York  said  that  we  ought  to  have  a  business  ad- 
ministration conducted  by  business  men  in  behalf 
of  the  business  interests  of  the  country.  What 
do  they  mean  by  that  ?  Do  they  call  the  farmers 
business  men?  (Cries  of  "No").  He  simply 
produces  wealth,  but  if  a  man  goes  on  the  Board 
of  Trade  and  makes  more  in  an  hour  betting  on 
the  price  of  what  you  raise  than  you  make  in 


a  year  he  becomes  a  business  man.  These  people 
have  attempted  to  array  a  few  of  the  people 
against  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  have  insisted 
that  the  affairs  of  this  Government  should  be  put 
in  the  hands  of  a  few. 

When  we  have  complained,  what  euphonious 
names  they  have  given  us.  They  have  been 
calling  us  disturbers  of  the  public  peace  and  they 
have  called  us  Anarchists.  (Applause). 

My  friends,  those  terms  simply  express  the 
contempt  which  they  have  for  the  great  mass  of 
the  people  of  this  country.  (Cries  of  "They 
have  been  doing  it  for  twenty-five  years"). 
These  names  they  call  us  simply  prove  that  they 
are  not  willing  to  trust  the  destinies  of  this  Re- 
public in  the  hands  of  the  people  who  have  cre- 
ated its  wealth  in  times  of  peace  and  who  have 
fought  its  battles  in  times  of  war. 

Show  me  those  people  who  now  call  us  Anar- 
chists and  I  will  show  you  a  class  of  people  who, 
if  we  had  war,  would  never  go  to  the  front;  but 
they  are  the  ones  who  abuse  those  who  would 
fight  and  save  their  own  property.  (Applause 
and  cheers).  I  believe  that  the  men  upon  whom 
the  nation  most  relies  when  it  wants  to  increase 
its  martial  strength  are  its  security  in  hours  of 
peril.  I  believe  that  these  people  can  be  trusted 
to  cast  their  ballot  in  time  of  peace  to  devise  the 
various  policies  for  this  nation.  (Applause). 

I  am   glad  to  see  the   number  of  people   who 


4i6 

have  assembled  here  this  afternoon.  (Cries, 
"  This  aint  half  of  them.  They're  working  for 
corporations,  and  have  to  wear  McKinley 
badges"). 

I  am  willing  to  defend  the  principles  embodied 
in  my  platform  in  Nebraska  or  in  New  York,  or 
anywhere  else.  But,  my  friends,  when  they  attack 
me  and  call  me  a  disturber  of  the  public  peace, 
and  when  they  say  that  I  could  not  be  trusted 
with  executive  power  because  I  am  in  sympathy 
with  the  lawless,  it  is  gratifying  to  me  to  have  the 
toilers  of  my  own  city  meet  me  and  indorse  me 
as  one  whom  they,  at  least,  are  willing  to  trust. 
(Long  and  continued  applause  and  three  cheers 
for  Bryan). 

I  have  come  among  you  and  I  am  glad  to  meet 
you  all.  I  have  made  campaigns  before  you  and 
you  know  how  those  campaigns  have  been  con- 
ducted. You  know  that  I  have  never  appealed  to 
a  man  in  this  district  to  vote  for  me  unless  his 
conscience  and  his  judgment  followed  his  vote. 
(Applause). 

It  is  gratifying  to  me  to  know  that  in  this 
county,  with  its  2,500  Republican  majority,  the 
majority  in  the  past  against  my  candidacy  has 
been  only  440  and  331  respectively.  (Applause). 
If  I  can  judge  anything  from  what  I  see  here,  and 
if  I  can  place  any  reliance  upon  the  reports  which 
have  come  to  me  from  everywhere,  then  when 
the  election  day  comes  we  cannot  only  expect  a 


417 

majority  in  Lancaster  County,  but  a  majority  of 
not  less  than  25,000  in  Nebraska.      (Applause). 

You  say  that  that  estimate  is  not  large  enough 
and  I  will  say  that  I  know  it  is  not,  but  I  always 
was  a  conservative  person.  I  want  to  say  to  you 
in  this  campaign,  as  I  have  said  to  you  in  every 
campaign,  if  there  is  one  Democrat  who  believes 
that  the  election  of  the  Chicago  ticket  will  be  in- 
jurious to  his  country  we  have  no  claim  on  his 
vote.  (Applause).  I  am  one  who  has  never  be- 
lieved that  the  citizen  should  put  his  party  above 
his  country.  I  have  not,  and  do  not,  intend  to  ap- 
peal to  any  man  to  support  the  Chicago  ticket  if 
he  thinks  that  any  other  ticket  will  be  better  for 
him  to  vote  for  or  for  the  land  in  which  we  all 
live.  (Applause). 

We  want  them  to  apply  their  intelligence  and 
patriotism  to  this  question  and  we  are  willing  to 
abide  the  result.  Men  in  New  York  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  sentiment  was  all  on  our  side 
in  this  campaign,  and  one  man  said  that  a  man 
could  not  write  a  poem  in  favor  of  syndicates 
running  the  business  of  this  country.  (Applause). 

Do  you  know  what  word  rhymes  with  syndi- 
cate ?  It  is  "  hate,"  and  you  cannot  write  a  poem, 
and  you  cannot  sing  a  song  in  favor  of  the  syn- 
dicate, controlling  the  financial  policies  of  this  na- 
tion, because  their  policy  is  a  sentiment  that  ap- 
peals to  the  pocketbook  and  overshadows  the  ap- 
peal to  the  best  feeling  of  man.  (Applause). 


Now  I  must  stop  or  I  will  make  a  speech.  You 
know  that  I  would  hate  awfully  to  have  the  New 
York  papers  say  that  I  had  driven  an  audience 
away  in  my  own  town.  (Cries  of  "Go  on  "  ). 

I  have  never  met  an  audience  in  this  city  or  in 
this  district  but  what  I  felt  that  I  should  express 
the  gratitude  I  feel  to  the  good  people  of  this  dis- 
trict for  all  that  you  have  done  for  me.  I  came 
among  you  a  stranger  and  you  took  me  in,  not  in 
the  sense  that  people  are  sometimes  taken  in,  but 
in  the  Bible  sense.  (Applause).  You  gave  me 
an  opportunity  to  study  national  questions  at  the 
National  Capitol,  and  the  study  of  these  questions 
has  led  me  to  the  convictions  which  I  have  ex- 
pressed in  this  campaign. 

Nothing  that  you  can  do  hereafter  can  rob  me 
of  the  benefits  which  you  have  already  conferred. 
You  may  turn  against  me  if  you  will,  but  your 
confidence  that  I  have  received  in  former  cam- 
paigns is  mine,  and  you  cannot  take  it  back,  and  I 
thank  you  for  it. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

SPEECH     IN    THE    HOUSE    OF    REPRE- 
SENTATIVES. 

February  27,  1894. 

The  House  being  in  Committee  of  the  Whole  and  having  under  con- 
sideration the  bill  (H.  R.  4956)  directing  the  coinage  of  silver  bullion 
held  in  the  Treasury,  and  for  other  purposes,  Mr.  Bryan  said  : 

Mr.  Chairman:  The  House  has  been  so  kind  to 
me  on  previous  occasions  that  I  shall  not  trespass 
long  upon  its  patience,  having  reserved  for  myself 
only  twenty-two  minutes ;  but  I  desire  to  submit  a 
few  remarks  in  connection  with  this  bill.  I  do 
not  feel  as  some  of  our  friends  have  expressed 
themselves  toward  our  Eastern  Democrats  who 
fail  to  vote  with  us  upon  this  question,  or  to  vote 
at  all. 

This  is  not  so  much  a  conflict  between  men  as 
it  is  a  conflict  between  ideas.  It  has  presented 
itself  in  various  forms  at  different  times,  and  we 
may  expect  it  to  present  itself  again,  and  I  have 
no  words  of  censure  for  those  of  our  brethren 
who,  from  the  importance  of  the  subject,  in  their 
judgment,  feel  justified  in  refusing  to  vote. 

Nor  do  I  agree  with  those  who  would   invoke 

o 

the  rule  which  prevailed  in  the  Fifty-first  Congress 

419 


42O 

of  counting  a  quorum  in  order  to  reach  a  vote.  I 
believe  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Representative  to 
protect  his  constituents  and  to  represent  their 
interests  upon  this  floor;  and  if  the  crisis  is  such 
that  in  his  judgment  he  can  best  protect  his  people 
by  refusing 'to  vote,  I  do  not  criticise  him  for  ex- 
ercising that  rio-ht. 

o  o 

For  one  hundred  years  or  more  it  was  the 
unbroken  rule  in  this  House  that  when  the 
minority  thought  it  of  sufficient  importance  they 
might,  by  refusing  to  vote,  compel  those  in  favor 
of  the  pending  proposition  to  bring  in  a  majority 
of  all  of  the  members  elected  in  order  to  pass  the 
bill.  To  my  mind  that  is  a  safeguard.  Any  other 
rule  is  invoked  not  in  the  interest  of  a  majority 
government,  but  in  the  interest  of  a  minority  gov- 
ernment ;  and  one  of  the  reasons  why  I  feel  called 
upon  to  criticise  that  rule  is  that  it  was  invoked  in 
the  Fifty-first  Congress  for  partisan  purposes,  in- 
voked by  those  who  denied  its  application  when 
they  were  in  the  minority,  and  who  in  my  judg- 
ment made  better  arguments  when  they  were 
opposing  the  rule  than  they  were  able  to  make 
when  they  adopted  the  rule  afterward.  If  we 
bring  the  members  into  this  House  and  have  a 
majority  in  favor  of  the  bill,  we  do  not  need  to 
count  a  quorum.  If  we  have  not  a  majority  in 
favor  of  the  bill,  then  we  have  no  assurance  that 
the  majority  of  the  people  of  the  country,  repre- 


sented  by  a  majority  of  the  members  upon  this 
floor,  are  in  favor  of  that  bill. 

I  believe  we  had  better  stand  by  the  old  rule ; 
and  if  the  minority  believe  that  there  is  sufficient 
justification,  let  them  compel  a  majority  to  concur 
in  legislation.  We  do  it  in  our  States.  Perhaps 
three-fourths  of  the  States  of  the  Union  provide 
in  their  constitutions  that  no  bill  can  become  a  law 
until  a  majority  of  all  the  members  elected  have 
expressed  tnemselves  in  the  affirmative  by  a  yea- 
and-nay  vote ;  and,  according  to  my  judgment,  it 
would  be  better  for  Congress  if  we  had  the  same 
constitutional  provision,  and  it  was  impossible  to 
pass  a  law  unless  a  majority  expressed  assent 
upon  a  yea-and-nay  vote.  It  would  make  men 
stay  here  and  attend  to  their  business;  if  we  count 
a  quorum,  it  allows  persons  to  be  absent  while  the 
business  goes  on  all  the  same.  Instead  of  hav- 
ing the  intelligence  and  judgment  of  all  the  peo- 
ple represented  here  to  do  the  legislative  work, 
we  simply  have  the  intelligence  and  the  judgment 
of  a  majority  of  them  when  we  count  a  quorum, 
and  important  measures  may  be  passed  by  a  mi- 
nority of  the  members  elected.  It  is  true  a  mi- 
nority may  enact  laws  if  a  quorum  votes,  but 
under  our  new  rules  now  the  minority  have  it  in 
their  power  to  compel  the  concurrence  of  a  major- 
ity, and  it  is  too  valuable  a  right  to  relinquish. 

But  I  do  not  wish  to  speak  longer  upon  this 
phase  of  the  question.  As  I  said,  it  is  a  conflict 


422 

of  ideas.  We  have  the  Eastern  idea  of  finances 
proposed  here,  and  it  is  antagonized  by  the  ideas 
of  the  West  and  South.  You  may  make  fun  of 
the  West  and  South  if  you  like.  You  may  say 
that  their  people  are  not  financiers.  You  may, 
even  in  your  private  conversation,  deny  to  them 
the  right  to  express  views.  You  may  belittle 
their  judgment  if  you  like;  but  these  people  have 
just  as  much  right  to  express  their  ideas  and  to 
guard  their  interests  as  you  have  to  guard  yours, 
and  their  ideas  are  as  much  entitled  to  considera- 
tion as  yours.  Most  of  those  who  are  opposed  to 
this  bill  favor  the  gold  standard.  They  may  call 
it  bimetallism  if  they  like.  They  may  say,  as  the 
gentleman  from  New  York  (Mr.  Hendrix)  said 
the  other  day,  that  he  believed  in  bimetallism,  but 
that  (in  bimetallism)  gold  will  be  the  standard. 

If,  sir,  that  is  the  idea  of  some  of  those  who  ad- 
vocate bimetallism,  if  they  want  it  on  a  gold  basis, 
I  desire  to  say  that  there  are  bimetallists  here 
who  do  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  term 
in  that  way.  We  must  choose  between  bimetal- 
lism and  gold  monometallism,  and  we  might  as 
well  meet  the  question  now.  We  have  had  it 
illustrated  on  a  recent  occasion  by  the  treasury 
department  when  we  were  told  that  gold  is  the 
only  real  money,  and  must  be  paid  when  de- 
manded. In  order  to  get  gold,  bonds  were  issued, 
and  just  see  what  a  ridiculous  and  absurd  thing 
occurred  in  the  attempt  to  get  that  gold.  During 


423 

the  time  that  those  bonds  were  being  sold  and 
paid  for,  those  who  wanted  to  buy  the  bonds  drew 
out  gold  on  treasury  notes.  I  have  a  letter  from 
the  treasurer  showing  that  between  the  first  of 
February  and  the  twentieth  of  February  they  pre- 
sented $18,641,855  United  States  notes  and  treas- 
ury notes,  and  drew  gold  out  of  the  treasury. 
Nearly  one-third  of  the  gold  ^brought  in  by  the 
bonds  was  drawn  out  to  pay  for  them  or  to  re- 
plenish the  vaults.  That  this  enormous  with- 
drawal of  gold  from  the  treasury  was  to  obtain 
the  gold  with  which  to  buy  the  bonds  issued  for 
the  purpose  of  drawing  gold  into  the  treasury  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  during  the  entire  month 
of  December,  1893,  only  $506,638  in  gold  were 
withdrawn  by  the  presentation  of  such  notes,  and 
during  the  month  of  January,  1894,  only  $356,121, 
while  less  than  half  a  million  dollars  in  gold  have 
been  withdrawn  during  the  eight  days  since  Feb- 
ruary igth. 

This  was  perfectly  proper  under  the  construc- 
tion given  to  the  law  by  the  department.  If  a 
man  who  takes  the  note  there  has  the  option  to 
demand  gold  or  silver,  whichever  he  pleases,  we 
are  at  the  mercy  at  any  time  of  those  who  desire 
to  deplete  our  gold  reserve ;  and  I  wonder  at  the 
moderation  of  those  who  are  buying  the  bonds. 
Instead  of  only  taking  $18,000,000,  I  do  not  un- 
derstand why  they  did  not  draw  from  the  treasury 
all  the  gold  needed  to  buy  the  bonds.  Just  as 


424 

long  as  we  maintain  the  policy  of  giving  the  op- 
tion to  any  holder,  neither  $50,000,000  nor  $100,- 
000,000  is  a  sufficient  reserve  if  our  financiers 
attack  it.  We  have  $346,000,000  in  greenbacks 
outstanding.  You  can  take  any  amount  of  these 
and  go  and  demand  gold  if  the  holder  has  the 
option. 

If  the  treasurer  gives  up  the  right  to  pay  in 
either  coin,  then  just  as  long  as  you  have  green- 
backs outstanding  you  can  compel  the  issue  of 
the  bonds  daily,  monthly  or  yearly,  to  make  up 
your  gold  reserve.  As  it  is,  the  law  is  construed 
to  compel  their  redemption  in  gold.  Now,  the 
difference  between  me  and  my  friend  from  New 
York  (Mr.  Warner)  is  this — and  I  admire  the 
frankness  with  which  he  stated  the  other  day  what 
a  great  many  of  the  advocates  of  the  gold  stand- 
ard are  not  willing  to  state,  that  in  his  judgment 
we  ought  to  draw  in  these  greenbacks,  pay  them 
off,  and  fill  the  void  with  bank  notes  of  some  kind  ; 
now,  the  difference,  I  say,  between  the  gentleman 
and  myself  is  this,  that  while  he  wants  to  extin- 
guish the  greenbacks  by  paying  them  off,  and 
thus  protect  the  reserves,  and  then  fill  the  void 
with  something  else,  I  want  to  adopt  bimetallism 
in  fact,  and  compel  the  treasurer  to  exercise  the 
option  of  paying  in  whichever  coin  he  wishes  to 
pay  in  and  has  at  hand.  There  is  no  bimetallism 
which  gives  the  option  to  the  note-holder.  Bi- 
metallism always  gives  the  option  to  the  debtor, 


425 

and  -if  the  treasurer  would  follow  the  law  which 
stands  upon  the  statute  book  and  was  intended  to 
be  exercised,  there  would  be  no  danger  of  our 
gold  being  drained  out  as  it  has  been. 

Why,  sir,  the  gentleman  from  Tennessee  (Mr. 
Patterson)  told  us  yesterday  of  the  small  amount 
of  gold  that  was  coming  into  the  Treasury,  I  was 
sorry  to  hear,  because  that  meant,  if  it  means  any- 
thing, that  there  will  be  another  demand  for  bonds, 
but  it  only  illustrates  how  helpless  we  are  in  the 
hands  of  those  whom  a  republic  in  time  of  war 
called  pirates.  It  only  shows  us  how  defenseless 
we  are  when  these  men  who  call  themselves  finan- 
ciers attack  the  credit  of  the  government  under  a 
pretence  of  keeping  up  an  honest  currency.  We 
are  told  that  less  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  custom 
dues  are  now  paid  in  gold.  What  does  it  mean  ? 
In  my  judgment  it  means  that  there  is  a  con- 
certed plan  to  hold  gold  and  gold  certificates,  and 
they  can  be  withheld  easily.  The  banks  and 
clearing  houses  pay  these  checks,  and  they  can 
pay  them  in  any  money  they  like.  They  have 
commenced  now  to  pay  the  silver  certificates  to 
the  Treasury  and  to  withhold  the  gold.  Does  it 
not  look  like  they  were  simply  trying  to  deplete 
the  gold  reserve  in  order  to  secure  another  issue 
of  bonds  ?  We  were  told  a  while  back  that  we 
should  issue  bonds  to  keep  the  gold  from  going 
to  Europe,  and  now  we  find  that  since  the  panic 
bank  reserves  have  become  so  great  that  the 


426 

banks  are  seeking  the  bonds  as  a  safe  investment 
for  those  reserves ;  but  whatever  the  excuse  it  is 
always  "bonds."  I  am  in  favor  of  the  second 
section  of  this  bill,  which  would  substitute  silver 
certificates  for  the  coin  certificates  when  they 
come  in. 

Just  so  long  as  our  Treasurer  or  the  admin- 
istration admits  the  right  of  the  note  holders 
to  demand  gold  just  so  long  we  are  at  their 
mercy ;  and  if  we  destroy  half,  two-thirds,  three- 
fourths  or  nine-tenths  of  our  paper  money  they 
can  drain  the  gold  reserve  just  as  well  with  that 
which  is  left  as  they  could  with  all  of  it ;  but  I 
favor  the  second  section  of  the  pending  bill,  I  say, 
because  it  will  partly  take  away  their  argument ; 
but  when  you  take  away  one  argument  they  will 
resort  to  another.  They  told  us  before  the 
Sherman  act  was  repealed  that  the  coin  certifi- 
cates were  being  used  to  deplete  the  gold  re- 
serve. The  Sheman  law  was  repealed  and  they 
are  drawing  out  gold  still  with  the  certificates, 
and  when  you  wipe  them  all  out  and  put  in  their 
place  silver  certificates  they  can  and  will  do  the 
same  with  the  greenbacks.  We  have  to  meet 
this  question,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  I  hope  our  peo- 
ple will  be  brave  enough  to  meet  it  now  and  say 
that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  in 
duty  bound  to  protect  its  common  people,  and 
owes  to  them  an  obligation  as  strong  and  as 

o  o 

sacred  as  its  obligations  to  the  "financiers"  who 


427 

are  drawing  the  gold  out  of  the  Treasury  when- 
ever they  desire. 

I  have  not  criticised  our  eastern  brethren.  I 
presume  they  are  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  their 
constituents,  at  least  we  must  take  that  for  granted. 
But  I  do  beg  our  western  Republicans  to  be  as 
independent  in  their  actions  as  the  eastern  Demo- 
crats are  in  theirs.  For  years  we  talked  tariff 
reform  in  the  West  and  had  it  in  our  platforms. 
It  was  the  faith  of  the  party ;  yet  when  we  came 
down  here  and  attempted  to  put  it  in  execution 
we  found  opposed  to  it  eastern  Democrats  enough 
to  prevent  the  bringing  of  relief  to  the  people. 
When  we  went  back  we  had  to  tell  our  people 
that  while  a  large  majority  of  the  Democratic 
party  was  in  favor  of  tariff  reform  we  could  do 
nothing.  Eastern  protectionist  Democrats  retard 
the  growth  of  the  party  in  the  West.  These  eastern 
representatives  have  had  the  courage  to  defy  the 
discipline  of  party;  they  have  had  the  courage  to 
separate  from  their  party  associates  in  order  to 
protect  what  they  believed  to  be  the  interests  of 
their  districts.  Will  the  Republicans  of  the  West 
blindly  follow  their  eastern  leaders  rather  than 
stand  up  for  the  interests  of  their  constituents? 

We  have  been  voting  here  to  get  a  quorum, 
and  there  are  just  a  few  Republicans  of  all  those 
who  preach  bimetallism — who 

"  Keep  the  word  of  promise  to  our  ear 
and  break  it  to  our  hope." 


428 

There  are  just  a  few  of  them  who  will  vote  here, 
against  the  dictation  of  their  leaders,  to  bring 
this  question  before  the  House.  But  the  great 
mass  of  the  western  Republicans  who  tell  you  that 
they  are  for  bimetallism,  that  they  a're  in  favor  of 
the  use  of  silver;  who  "point  with  pride"  to  the 
Republican  platform  which  speaks  of  the  vener- 
able use  of  gold  and  silver;  these  people — unlike 
the  eastern  Demorcats,  who  stand  up  against 
their  party  because,  as  they  say,  their  constituents 
demand  it  of  them,  refuse  to  vote,  and  bow  to 
party  discipline.  They  sacrifice  not  the  interests 
only,  but  in  my  humble  judgment,  the  rights  of 
the  people  who  sent  them  here.  If,  sir,  this  is  a 
conflict  of  ideas ;  if  the  eastern  idea  is  to  divide 
our  party ;  if  it  is  to  take  men  out  of  the  De- 
mocracy and  make  them  stand  aloof  from  their 
party  associates  in  order,  as  they  say,  that  they 
may  protect  their  constituents,  I  ask  if  the  Re- 
publicans of  the  West  and  South  must  stand  by 
and  allow  a  party  name  to  prevent  them  from 
representing  the  interests  of  their  people.  We 
need  money.  There  is  not  a  dollar  being  issued 
by  the  Federal  Treasury.  Our  population  in- 
creases and  with  it  the  demand  for  money  increases. 
Mr.  Sherman  said,  in  advocating  the  Sherman 

o 

law,  that  we  needed  every  year  the  $54,000,000 
which  that  law  was  expected  to  give.  If  we 
needed  it  then,  do  we  not  need  it  now?  I  ask 
you,  western  Republicans,  who  will  go  back  to 


429 

your  homes  and  tell  your  people  that  you  want  to 
give  them  more  money,  I  ask  you,  what  provision 
you  are  making  now  for  more  money  for  the 
people  ?  There  is  practically  no  gold  being 
coined.  There  is  no  material  increase  of  the 
circulation  from  that  source.  There  is  none  from 
the  coinage  of  silver.  There  is  none  from  the 
issue  of  certificates.  There  is  none  from  the 
issue  of  greenbacks.  There  is  none  from  the  issue 
of  national  bank  notes.  There  is  a  letter  on  the 
first  page  of  this  morning's  Record  which  indicates 
that  the  national  banks  are  withdrawing  their  cir- 
culation instead  of  increasing  it.  In  fact  the  total 
amount  of  the  national  bank  notes  is  constantly 
decreasing.  On  the  ist  of  November,  1893,  the 
amount  of  such  notes  in  circulation  was  $209,31 1,- 
993  ;  the  amount  in  circulation  December  i,  1893, 
$208,948,105  ;  the  amount  in  circulation  January 
i,  1894;  $2081538,844;  the  amount  in  circulation 
February  i,  1894,  $207,862,107,  and  the  amount 
in  circulation  to-day,  (February  27,  1894)  $207,- 
420,440.  Yet  here  is  a  great  people  demanding 
money  and  the  great  western  country  waiting 
for  development.  To  be  developed  it  must  have 
money. 

What  provision  are  you  going  to  make  ?  I  ask 
that  this  bill  shall  be  passed  in  order  that  you  may 
coin  and  put  in  circulation  $55,000,000  of  silver 
which  will  not  more  than  supply  the  yearly  need 


430 

of  this  country  according  to  Mr.  Sherman's  state- 
ment of  three  years  ago. 

Mr.  Coombs. — Will  it  interrupt  the  gentle- 
man to  ask  him  to  tell  us  how  the  issue  of  fifty- 
five  millions  of  silver  is  to  get  into  the  hands  of 
the  people  ? 

Mr.  Bryan. — In  this  way,  Mr.  Chairman  :  We 
coin  these  fifty-five  millions ;  that  money  is  put 
into  the  Treasury,  and  then,  instead  of  issuing 
bonds  to  get  money  to  run  the  Government,  let 
that  silver  be  used  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
Government.  In  that  way  it  goes  into  circulation 
without  any  difficulty.  Why,  sirs,  we  need  it  so 
badly  that  we  were  told  a  few  days  ago  by  the 
gentleman  from  New  York  (Mr.  Hendrix)  that, 
while  the  ostensible  purpose  of  the  bond  issue 
was  to  get  gold  for  the  reserve,  the  real  object 
was  to  get  money  to  run  the  Government.  Was 
there  ever  a  better  time  to  coin  this  money  than 
now?  If  our  eastern  Democrats  and  all  our 
eastern  Republicans  are  willing  to  give  the  peo- 
ple fifty-five  millions  of  this  coinage,  which  they 
can  give  easily,  which  they  can  give  right  now, 
when  we  need  the  money,  when  we  are  borrow- 
ing money  to  pay  our  running  expenses  ;  if  they 
are  not  willing  to  give  this  money  now,  I  want  to 
ask  when  will  they  be  willing  to  give  the  people 
more  money? 

Mr.  Walker. — Does  the  gentleman  want  an 
answer  ? 


431 

Mr.  Bryan. — Will  it  be  in  that  sweet  by-and-by 
that  you  are  looking  forward  to,  when  the  Repub- 
lican party,  as  you  say,  will  pay  expenses  by  col- 
lecting more  taxes  ? 

Mr.  Walker. — I  will  answer  the  gentleman. 
Never,  never  any  flat  money. 

Mr.  Bryan. — Mr.  Chairman,  I  believe  the  gen- 
tleman speaks  what  he  believes.  I  do  not  do  him 
any  injustice,  for  I  repeat  his  own  words.  I  be- 
lieve that  that  gentleman  would  never  give  the 
people  enough  money  to  do  their  business  with. 

Mr.  Walker. — I  said  flat  money. 

Mr.  Bryan. — Never  as  long  as  he  represents  a 
constituency  more  interested  in  appreciating  the 
value  of  the  currency  than  in  giving  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  money  for  our  public  needs.  This  is 
not  flat  money.  It  is  silver  coin. 

Now,  I  want  our  friends  to  think  about  this.  If 
we  cannot  justify  the  coinage  of  this  seigniorage 
at  this  time  when  we  "need  the  money  to  meet  the 
public  expenditures  ;  if  we  cannot  justify  it  now, 
then  I  want  you,  gentlemen,  to  settle  in  your  own 
minds  when  you  are  going  to  give  the  people  a 
law  that  will  supply  them  with  money  to  keep 
pace  with  our  population.  Do  you  mean  to  say 
that  you  are  going  to  confine  the  67,000,000  of 
people  in  this  country  to  the  present  currency? 
Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  never  intend  to  give 
them  more  money  of  any  kind  ?  If  you  do  intend 


432 

to  give  them  more  money,  here  is  the  chance  to 
do  it. 

If  you  do  not  want  to  give  them  this  money,  let 
it  go  forth  that  this  Congress  or  those  who  are 
opposing  this  bill  are  in  favor  of  confining  a  grow- 
ing country,  a  developing  country,  to  the  present 
volume  of  currency,  which  must  mean  an  appreci- 
ating dollar  and  fall  in  prices  an  increasing  debt, 
increasing  suffering  and  the  piling  up  of  the 
wealth  of  this  country  in  the  hands  of  the  few  even 
more  rapidly  than  it  has  been  done  heretofore. 
If  you  are  ready  to  say  that,  let  us  go  out  and 
fight  the  battle  before  the  people.  Let  us  leave 
it  to  them  to  determine  the  question.  But,  sirs, 
you  cannot  excuse  yourselves  for  not  giving  the 
people  this  money  unless  you  are  prepared  to 
show  them  how  you  can  furnish  a  better  money 
with  which  to  do  their  business. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

SPEECH  ON  THE  ROTHSCHILD-MORGAN 
BOND    CONTRACT,    DELIVERED    IN 
THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 

February  14,  1895. 

The  House  having  under  consideration  the  joint  resolution  (H.  Res. 
275)  authorizing  the  issue  of  $65,116,275  of  gold  3  per  cent,  bonds,  Mr. 
Bryan  spoke  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Speaker :  This  resolution  embodies  two 
purposes.  It  proposes  to  ratify  the  contract  made 
by  the  Executive  by  authorizing  the  substitution 
of  gold  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $65,1 16,275,  bear- 
ing interest  at  a  rate  not  exceeding  3  per  cent., 
and  payable  not  more  than  thirty  years  after  date, 
in  accordance  with  the  request  made  in  the  Pres- 
ident's message,  and  it  also  provides  that  green- 
backs and  Treasury  notes  redeemed  with  the  gold 
purchased  with  these  bonds  shall  not  be  re-issued. 

I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the  House  to  the 
fact  that  the  latter  provision  is  intended  to  lock  up 
in  the  Treasury  $65,000,000  of  legal-tender  paper 
without  making  any  provision  whatever  to  supply 
the  place  of  that  currency.  If  we  vote  for  this 
proposition,  we  vote  to  retire  that  much  money 


without  filling  the  void. 


433 


434 

Mr.  Warner.  Will  the  gentleman  allow  me  to 
ask  him  a  question? 

Mr.  Bryan.     I  hope  I  shall  not  be  interrupted. 

Mr.  Warner.     Does  not  the  gold  fill  the  void  ? 

Mr.  Bryan.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  House  knows 
that  when  I  have  time  I  never  object  to  questions, 
and  it  is  only  because  of  my  limited  time  to-day 
that  I  ask  gentlemen  not  to  interrupt  me.  In 
answer  to  the  question,  however,  I  would  say  that 
unless  the  greenbacks  and  Treasury  notes  are  re- 
issued they  will  accumulate  and  a  few  more  bond 
issues  will  retire  all  of  them  and  deprive  the  coun- 
try of  that  much  of  its  circulating  medium.  For 
all  practical  purposes  it  is  equivalent  to  a  cancel- 
lation of  this  money  and  will  offer  a  constant 
temptation  to  those  who  oppose  greenbacks  to 
draw  out  the  gold  and  force  further  issues  of  bonds 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  this  kind  of  money  out 
of  the  way. 

But  the  main  question  presented  by  this  reso- 
lution is  whether  we  shall  ratify  the  contract  made 
by  the  Executive  and  issue  gold  bonds  in  order  to 
save  about  a  half  million  a  year  in  interest.  The 
supporters  of  this  resolution  urge  us  to  consider 
it  as  a  business  proposition,  and  I  shall  discuss  it 
as  a  business  proposition.  One  gentleman  has 
suggested  that  Democrats  ought  not  to  criticise 
the  Administration.  I  want  it  understood  that,  so 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  when  I  took  the  oath  of 
office  as  a  member  of  Congress,  there  was  no 


435 

mental  reservation  that  I  would  not  speak  out 
against  an  outrage  committed  against  my  consti- 
tuents, even  when  committed  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  is  only  a 
man.  We  intrust  the  administration  of  govern- 
ment to  men,  and  when  we  do  so,  we  know  that 
they  are  liable  to  err.  When  men  are  in  public 
office  we  expect  them  to  make  mistakes — even  so 
exalted  an  official  as  the  President  is  liable  to  make 
mistakes.  And  if  the  President  does  make  a  mis- 
take, what  should  Congress  do  ?  Ought  it  to 
blindly  approve  his  mistake,  or  do  we  owe  it  to 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  even  to  the 
President  himself  to  correct  the  mistake,  so  that 
it  will  not  be  made  again  ?  But  some  gentlemen 
say  that  the  Democratic  party  should  stand  by  the 
President.  What  has  he  done  for  the  party  since 
the  last  election  to  earn  its  gratitude  ?  I  want  to 
suggest  to  my  Democratic  friends  that  the  party 
owes  no  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  its  President. 
What  gratitude  should  we  feel  ?  The  gratitude 
which  a  confiding  ward  feels  toward  his  guardian 
without  bond  who  has  squandered  a  rich  estate. 
What  gratitude  should  we  feel  ?  The  gratitude 
which  a  passenger  feels  toward  the  trainman  who 
has  opened  a  switch  and  precipitated  a  wreck. 
What  has  he  done  for  the  party  ?  He  has  at- 
tempted to  inoculate  it  with  Republican  virus,  and 


436 

blood  poisoning  has  set  in.  What  is  the  duty  of 
the  Democratic  party  ?  If  it  still  loves  its  Presi- 
dent, it  is  its  duty,  as  I  understand  it,  to  prove 
that  it  has  at  least  one  attribute  of  divinity  left  by 
chastening  him  whom  it  loveth. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  do  not  intend  to  question  the 
motives  of  officials  who  are  responsible  for  this 
contract.  We  might  criticise  the  conduct  of  the 
President  in  excluding  all  other  advices  and  con- 
sulting only  with  the  magnates  of  Wall  street ; 
and  we  might  even  suggest  that  he  could  no  more 
expect  to  escape  from  asphyxiation  if  he  locked 
himself  up  in  a  room  and  turned  on  the  gas — but 
without  questioning  the  motives  of  the  President, 
I  say,  we  have  the  right  to  express  our  judgment 
as  to  whether  the  discretion  vested  in  the  Presi- 
dent has  been  wisely  exercised.  We  are  told  that 
this  is  not  only  a  business  proposition,  but  a  very 
insignificant  question — just  a  little  matter  of  sav- 
ing half  a  million  a  year,  that  is  all. 

Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire  to  ask  these  gentlemen 
who  are  always  coming  here  with  these  "  business 
propositions  "  why  it  is  that  no  advocate  of  the 
gold  standard  dares  to  stand  before  the  American 
people  and  unfold  the  full  plan  of  the  gold  con- 
spiracy. Why  is  it  that  our  opponents  keep 
bringing  up  one  proposition  at  a  time  and  saying, 
"An  emergency  is  upon  us ;  let  us  adopt  this  pro- 
position at  once,  and  leave  the  final  settlement  of 
the  money  question  until  some  other  time?" 


437 

Why  is  it  that  we  never  reach  a  time  when  these 
gentlemen  are  willing  to  consider  the  greatest  of 
all  the  questions  which  are  demanding  settlement 
at  the  hands  of  the  American  people?  Save 
$16,000,000  in  thirty  years?  Why,  sirs,  this  is  a 
bigger  question  than  $16,000,000. 

WTill  you  set  a  price  upon  human  life  ?  Will 
you  weigh  in  the  balance  the  misery  of  the  peo- 
ple ?  What  is  the  value  of  civilization  to  the  hu- 
man race — because  the  settlement  of  "  this  little 
question  "  may  enormously  affect  the  welfare  of 
mankind  ?  And  yet  gentlemen  talk  about  its  be- 
ing a  matter  of  small  consequence,  a  little  ques- 
tion, the  mere  saving  of  half  a  million  dollars  a 
year.  Save  the  people  $16,000,000  in  thirty 
years — twenty-five  cents  apiece — by  this  resolu- 
tion, and  $16,000,000  will  not  measure  the  dam- 
age that  may  result  to  them  in  a  third  of  that 
time. 

What  is  this  contract  ?  I  am  glad  that  it  has 
been  public.  It  is  a  contract  made  by  the  Execu- 
tive of  a  great  nation  with  the  representatives  of 
foreign  money-loaners.  It  is  a  contract  made 
with  those  who  are  desirous  of  changing  the  finan- 
cial policy  of  this  country.  They  recognize  by 
their  actions  that  the  United  States  has  the  right 
to  pay  coin  obligations  in  either  gold  or  silver, 
and  they  come  to  us  with  the  insolent  proposi- 
tion, "We  will  give  you  $16,000,000,  paying  a 
proportionate  amount  each  year,  if  the  United 


438 

States  will  change  its  financial  policy  to  suit  us." 
Never  before  has  such  a  bribe  been  offered  to  our 
people  by  a  foreign  syndicate,  and  we  ought  to  so 
act  that  such  a  bribe  will  never  be  offered  again. 
By  this  contract  we  not  only  negotiate  with  for- 
eigners for  a  change  in  our  financial  policy,  but 
give  them  an  option  on  future  loans.  They  are 
to  have  the  option  on  all  bonds  which  may  be 
issued  before  the  first  of  next  October. 

What  would  be  the  effect  of  such  a  condition  ? 
Do  you  suppose  that  anybody  else  will  care  to 
bid  when  it  is  known  that  these  men  have  the  re- 
fusal of  all  bonds  at  any  price?  It  makes  a  pop- 
ular loan  impossible.  If  these  men  alone  did  so 
bid  for  the  next  issue,  they  can  insist  upon  a  con- 
dition that  they  shall  have  an  option  on  a  still 
further  issue  of  bonds.  Shall  we  bind  ourselves 
to  these  men  perpetually  ?  I  shall  not  raise  the 
question,  because  I  am  not  prepared  to  discuss  it 
from  a  legal  standpoint,  whether  the  President 
has  a  right  to  sell  an  option  on  bonds  which  may 
be  hereafter  issued ;  but,  sirs,  I  will  say  that  if  he 
has  the  right,  I  believe  he  has  made  an  inexcusa- 
ble use  of  the  discretion  invested  in  him.  We 
cannot  afford  to  put  ourselves  in  the  hands  of  the 
Rothschilds,  who  hold  mortgages  on  most  of  the 
thrones  of  Europe. 

The  press  despatches  stated  that  the  French 
steamer  La  Gascogne,  when  she  came  into  port  a 
few  days  ago,  had  the  three  red  lanterns  on  her 


439 

foremasts,  signifying :  "  Get  out  of  the  way  ;  I  can- 
not control  my  course."  The  President  may  be 
persuaded  that  this  country  has  reached  the  point 
where  it  cannot  control  its  own  course,  and  it 
must  supplicate  foreign  financiers  to  protect  our 
Treasury ;  but  he  mistakes  the  sentiment  of  the 
American  people  if  he  thinks  that  they  share  with 
him  in  this  alarm.  The  United  States  is  able  to 
take  care  of  itself.  It  can  preserve  its  credit  and 
protect  its  people  without  purchasing  at  a  high 
price  the  "  financial  influence  "  or  the  legitimate 
efforts  of  banking  corporations,  foreign  or  do- 
mestic. 

I  call  attention  also  to  the  fact  that  these  bonds 
may  be  made  payable  in  thirty  years.  The  con- 
tract does  not  call  for  thirty  year  bonds ;  it  says 
that  "any  bonds  of  the  United  States,"  payable  in 
gold,  and  drawing  three  per  cent,  interest,  may  be 
substituted  in  the  place  of  the  coin  bonds.  But 
there  seems  to  be  a  fear  that  the  bond-buyers 
may  insist  that  the  spirit  of  the  contract  may  com- 
pel the  issue  of  thirty-year  bonds.  In  describing 
this  contract,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  find  in  the  "  Mer- 
chant of  Venice  "  language  more  expressive  than 
any  I  can  command.  That  language  fits  the  con- 
tract which  we  are  asked  to  ratify,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Shylock.     This  kindness  will  I  show : 

Go  with  me  to  a  notary,  seal  me  there 
Your  single  bond,  and,  in  a  merry  sport 
If  you  repay  me  not  on  such  a  day, 


440 

In  such  a  place,  such  sum  or  sums  that  as  are 
Expressed  in  the  condition,  let  the  forfeit 
Be  nominated  for  an  equal  pound 
Of  your  fair  flesh,  to  be  cut  off  and  taken 
In  what  part  of  your  body  pleaseth  me. 
***** 
"Antonio.     Yes,  Shylock,  I  will  seal  unto  this  bond." 

Mr.  Bowen. — Who  wrote  that,  Shakespeare  or 
Bacon  ? 

Mr.  Bryan. — I  shall  leave  Mr.  Donnelly  and 
Mr.  Ingersoll  to  settle  the  question  of  authorship. 
But,  Mr.  Speaker,  it  was  decided  that  Mr.  Shy- 
lock's  bond,  while  it  called  for  a  pound  of  flesh, 
did  not  include  any  blood.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  construction  placed  upon  that  bond  and 
the  construction  which  this  House  is  asked  to 
place  upon  the  contract  before  us  is,  that  we  are 
asked  to  make  the  construction  so  liberal  as  to  in- 
clude the  blood  with  the  flesh.  We  have  a  right, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  contract,  to  substi- 
tute a  short-time  bond,  and  yet  the  resolution 
permits  the  Secretary  to  issue  a  thirty-year  bond. 

This  House  is  not  prepared  to  give  its  sanc- 
tion to  a  policy  which  contemplates  a  permanent 
public  debt ;  but  the  rule  adopted  allows  no  op- 
portunity for  an  amendment  limiting  the  bonds  to 
five  or  ten  years.  If  we  give  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  authority  to  issue  a  thirty-year  bond,  he 
is  powerless  to  resist  the  demands  of  bond  pur- 
chasers, because  the  contract  is  made.  Ten  days 
only  are  given  for  the  exercise  of  the  option.  He 


441 

cannot  negotiate  with  anybody  else ;  he  cannot 
offer  bonds  to  anyone  else ;  he  is  in  their  hands ; 
he  must  make  a  thirty-year  bond  if  they  ask  it — 
and  who  doubts  that  they  will  ask  it  ? 

There  is  another  objection  to  this  contract.  It 
provides  for  the  private  sale  of  gold  bonds,  run- 
ning thirty  years,  at  $1.04^  which  ought  to  be 
worth  $1.19  in  the  open  market,  and  which  could 
have  been  sold  at  public  auction  for  $1.15  without 
the  least  effort. 

Why  this  sacrifice  of  the  interest  of  the  United 
States  ?  The  Government's  credit  was  not  in  dan- 
ger ;  the  bonds  of  the  United  States  were  selling 
in  the  market  at  a  regular  premium.  The  same 
kind  of  bonds  having  only  twelve  years  to  run 
were  selling  at  over  $1.12.  What  excuse  was 

o  TT 

there  for  selling  a  thirty  year  bond  for  $1.04^  ? 
What  defence  can  be  made  of  this  gift  of  some- 
thing like  seven  million  and  a  half  dollars  to  the 
bond  syndicate.  We  are  told  that  we  can  avoid 
the  sale  of  coin  bonds  at  $i.O4*/£  by  authorizing 
three  and  a  half  per  cent,  gold  bonds.  What  a 
privilege  !  Why,  it  is  less  than  three  months  since 
ten  year  coin  bonds  were  sold  by  the  President  at 
a  premium  which  reduced  the  rate  of  interest  to 
less  than  three  per  cent. 

Has  the  credit  of  the  country  fallen  so  much  in 
three  months  that  a  thirty  year  three  per  cent, 
gold  bond  is  worth  less  now  than  a  ten  year  three 
per  cent,  coin  bond  was  then  ?  Nothing  has  oc- 


442 

curred  within  three  months,  except  the  President's 
messages  to  injure  the  credit  of  the  country.  If 
the  President  is  correct  in  assuming  that  the 
financial  world  places  a  higher  estimate  on  gold 
bonds  than  the  coin  bonds,  why  did  he  not  secure 
a  higher  price  for  gold  bonds?  Did  not  pur- 
chasers know  three  months  ago  that  coin  bonds 
could  be  paid  in  silver  ?  They  certainly  did  and 
yet  they  were  willing  to  loan  money  on  those 
bonds  for  a  short  time  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest 
than  Messrs.  Morgan  and  Rothschild  now  offer  to 
loan  on  long  time  gold  bonds. 

But  why  are  gold  bonds  demanded  ?  Gentle- 
men say  that  all  our  bonds  are  in  fact  payable  in 
gold  now.  They  either  are  payable  in  gold  or 
they  are  not.  If  they  are,  then  this  legislation  is 
not  needed.  If  they  are  not,  then  the  proposed 
legislation  is  a  radical  and  violent  change  of 
policy.  We  insist  that  outstanding  bonds  are  pay- 
able in  gold  or  silver  and  that  the  United  States 
has  the  right  to  choose  the  coin.  The  men  who 

o 

contracted  for  coin  bonds  understood  this,  and  in- 
sisted upon  a  higher  rate  of  interest  on  the  ground 
that  they  be  paid  in  silver.  By  what  authority, 
then,  does  the  President  declare  in  his  message : 
"  Of  course  there  should  never  be  a  doubt  in 
any  quarter  as  to  redemption  in  gold  of  the  bonds 
of  the  Government  which  are  made  payable  in 
coin."  Is  he  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  the 
debtor  always  has  the  choice  of  the  coin,  where 


443 

only  coin  is  mentioned  ?  Is  he  not  aware  of  the 
adoption  of  the  Matthews'  resolution  in  1878? 
That  resolution  expressly  declared  the  right  of  the 
Government  to  pay  its  bonds  in  either  gold  or 
silver.  The  resolution  reads  as  follow : 

"That  all  the  bonds  of  the  United  States 
issued  or  authorized  to  be  issued  under  the 
said  act  of  Congress  herein  before  recited,  are 
payable  principal  and  interest  at  the  option 
of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  silver 
dollars  of  the  coinage  of  the  United  States 
containing  412  one-half  grains  each  of  standard 
silver,  and  that  to  restore  its  coinage  such  silver 
coin  as  a  legal  tender  in  payment  of  said  bonds, 
principal  and  interest,  is  not  in  violation  of  the 
public  faith  nor  in  the  derogation  of  the  rights  of 
the  public  creditors." 

That  policy  has  never  been  changed  by  law, 
but  the  resolution  before  us  makes  a  departure 
from  the  settled  policy  of  the  Government  and 
provides  for  a  bond  payable  specifically  in  gold. 
Do  members  realize  the  influence  which  would  be 
exerted  upon  the  public  generally  by  the  adoption 
of  this  resolution  ?  The  gentleman  from  Florida 
(Mr.  Cooper)  told  us  that  his  city  recently  issued 
gold  bonds  and  we  know  that  pressure  is  being 
brought  to  bear  on  other  cities  and  on  indi- 

o 

viduals  to  induce  them  to  enter  into  gold  con- 
tracts. If  the  Government  discredits  silver  by 
making  these  bonds  payable  in  gold  only  it  will 


444 

set  an  example  which  will  go  far  towards  compel- 
ling all  borrowers  to  compromise  payment  in 
gold.  As  gold  contracts  increase  in  number  the 
demand  for  £old  will  increase. 

O 

What  a  farce  for  men  to  talk  about  maintaining 
the  parity  between  the  metals  by  means  of  legis- 
lation which  directly  tends  to  destroy  the  parity 
and  drives  gold  to  a  premium  !  The  legislation 
proposed  will  either  pledge  the  Government  to 
redeem  all  bonds  in  gold  or  it  will  discredit  bonds 
already  in  existence.  The  probability  is  that  the 
adoption  of  this  resolution  would  be  followed 
immediately  by  the  demand  from  the  holders  of 
other  bonds  that  they  be  put  upon  the  same  gold 
footing.  I  say  probably,  I  may  say  that  such  a 
course  is  certain.  No  sooner  had  the  President 
asked  for  authority  to  issue  gold  bonds  than  his 
faithful  lieutenant  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Hill,  offered 
a  resolution  pledging  the  Government  to  redeem 
all  bonds  in  gold  if  gold  goes  to  a  premium.  This 
remarkable  resolution  read  as  follows : 

"  Resolved  (If  the  House  of  Representatives 
concurs),  That  it  is  the  sense  of  Congress  that  the 
true  policy  of  the  Government  requires  that  its 
efforts  should  be  steadily  directed  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  safe  system  of  bimetallism,  wherein 
gold  and  silver  may  be  maintained  at  a  parity,  and 
every  dollar  coined  may  be  the  equal  in  value  and 
power  of  every  other  dollar  coined  or  issued  by 
the  United  States ;  but  if  our  efforts  to  establish 


445 

or  maintain  such  bimetallism  shall  not  be  wholly 
successful,  and  if  for  any  other  reason  our  silver 
coin  shall  not  hereafter  be  at  a  parity  with  gold 
coin  and  the  equal  thereof  in  value  and  power  in 
the  market  and  in  the  payment  of  debts,  then  it  is 
hereby  declared  that  the  bonds  of  the  United 
States,  now  or  hereafter  issued,  which  by  their 
terms  are  payable  in  coin,  shall,  nevertheless,  be 
paid  in  standard  gold  dollars,  it  being  the  policy 
of  the  United  States  that  its  creditors  shall  at  all 
times  be  paid  in  the  best  money  in  use." 

This  would  not  only  pledge  the  Government  to 
the  previous  issue  in  gold  but  would  relieve  the  re- 
cent purchasers  from  the  loss  which  they  guarded 
against  by  an  extortionate  interest  and  yet  leave 
them  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  extortion.  Thus 
does  one  vicious  proposition  tread  upon  the 
heels  of  another.  Mr.  Hill's  plan  is  even  worse 
than  the  President's,  for  under  the  plan  of  the 
latter  the  bondholder  would  bear  whatever  loss 
might  arise  if  gold  should  happen  to  fall  below 
silver,  but  Mr.  Hill's  plan  burdens  the  Govern- 
ment with  all  the  risks  and  o-uarantees  to  the 

d> 

bondholders  all  the  chance  of  gain.  Not  only  is 
Mr.  Hill's  plan  directly  antagonistic  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  bimetallism,  but  it  offers  a  reward  to  the 
creditor  if  he  can  destroy  the  parity  between  the 
metals,  whereas  the  creditor  is  interested  in  main- 
taining the  parity  when  the  option  lies  with  the 
Government. 


446 

It  is  alarming  to  note  the  aggressiveness  of  the 
creditor  classes,  and  humiliating  to  think  that 
Congress  should  be  asked  to  comply  with  their 
wishes  regardless  of  consequences.  The  first 
effect  of  this  government  in  the  direction  of  gold 
contracts  would  be  to  reduce  the  amount  of  our 
primary  money,  and  to  build  our  entire  credit 
system  upon  a  narrow  base  of  gold.  Think  of 
making  an  indebtedness  public  and  private  of 
$13,000,000,000  payable  in  gold,  with  only  $600,- 
000,000  of  gold  in  the  country,  and  that  is  an 
estimate ! 

The  government  estimate  of  gold  coin  in  the 
United  States  on  the  first  of  January,  1895,  was 
about  $600,000,000,  and  of  that  sum  only  about 
$214,000,000  was  visible.  About  $100,000,000 
was  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  and 
$114,000,000  was  held  by  national  banks.  Be- 
yond that  no  one  knows  the  whereabouts  of  any 
large  amount  of  this  gold.  We  know  that  no 
laro-e  amount  of  gold  is  in  circulation  amonq-  the 

&  o 

people  or  in  hiding,  and  yet,  with  only  $214,000,- 
ooo  of  visible  gold,  the  United  States  is  expected 
to  conduct  a  safe  business  on  a  gold  basis.  To 
make  the  attempt  is  to  invite  a  panic — nay,  more, 
it  is  to  guarantee  a  disaster. 

And  yet,  Mr.  Speaker,  if  the  immediate  effect 
is  bad,  the  ultimate  effect  of  the  proposed  policy 
is  infinitely  worse.  Every  act  of  legislation  dis- 
criminating against  silver  gives  an  impetus  to  the 


447 

Government  in  favor  of  a  gold  standard,  and 
makes  the  restoration  of  bimetallism  more  diffi- 
cult. No  one  act  could,  in  my  judgment,  do  more 
to  obstruct  the  re-establishment  of  free  bimetallic 
coinage  as  it  existed  prior  to  1873  than  the  act 
which  the  President  is  attempting  to  force  upon 
Congress.  Are  the  gentlemen  who  are  urging  it 

c3  O  O          O 

deceived  as  to  its  purpose  and  necessary  effect 
when  they  speak  of  it  as  an  insignificant  matter, 
or  do  they  presume  upon  the  credulity  of  their 
hearers  ?  Believing  that  it  is  a  long  step  in  the 
direction  of  universal  gold  monometallism,  and 
believing  that  universal  gold  monometallism 

o  *-> 

would  bring  this  country  continuous  and  increas- 
ing financial  distress  beyond  the  power  of  lan- 
guage to  exaggerate,  we  protest  against  the  pas- 
sage of  this  resolution.  If  we  love  our  country 
and  are  interested  in  its  welfare,  no  sacrifice  on 
our  part  should  be  too  great  if  necessary  to  pre- 
vent the  adoption  of  such  a  policy  by  this  the 
foremost  nation  upon  the  earth. 

While  the  question  immediately  before  us  is 
whether  we  shall  authorize  the  issue  of  gold  bonds, 
I  ask  you  to  consider  for  a  moment  whether  we 
need  to  issue  bonds  of  any  kind.  Bonds  have 
been  issued  to  replenish  the  gold  reserve,  and  the 
gold  reserve  has  been  drawn  out  because  the 

o 

holders  of  greenbacks  and  Treasury  notes  have 
been  allowed  to  designate  the  coin  of  redemp- 
tion. In  other  words,  the  option  which  belongs 


448 

to  the  Government  has  been  surrendered  to  the 
holders  of  the  notes,  and  this  has  been  done,  not 
by  the  legislative  enactment,  but  by  an  adminis- 
trative policy.  If  the  withdrawal  of  gold  could  be 
stopped,  no  bonds  would  be  necessary.  It  be- 
comes important,  therefore,  to  know  whether  the 
Government  has  a  legal  right  to  protect  itself 
from  the  gold-grabbing  by  redeeming  greenbacks 
and  Treasury  notes  in  silver  when  silver  is  more 
convenient.  On  the  2ist  of  January,  1895,  Secre- 
tary Carlisle  made  a  statement  before  the  House 
Committee  on  Appropriations,  and  I  quote  the 
following  question  and  answer  from  a  printed  re- 
port of  his  testimony  : 

"  Mr.  Sibley,  I  would  like  to  ask  you  (perhaps 
not  entirely  connected  with  the  matter  under  dis- 
cussion) what  objection  there  could  be  to  having 
the  option  of  redeeming  either  in  silver  or  gold 
lie  with  the  Treasury  instead  of  the  note-holder? 

Secretary  Carlisle. — If  that  policy  had  been 
adopted  at  the  beginning  of  the  resumption — and 
I  am  not  saying  this  for  the  purpose  of  criticising 
the  action  of  any  of  my  predecessors  or  anybody 
else — but  if  the  policy  of  reserving  to  the  Govern- 
ment at  the  beginning  of  resumption  the  option 
of  redeeming  in  gold  or  silver  all  its  paper  pre- 
sented had  been  adopted,  I  believe  it  would  have 
worked  beneficially,  and  there  would'  have  been 
no  trouble  orowino-  out  of  it;  but  the  Secretaries 

*>  o 

of  the  Treasury  from  the  beginning  of  resumption 


449 

have  pursued  a  policy  of  redeeming-  in  gold  or 
silver  at  the  option  of  the  holder  of  the  paper,  and 
if  any  Secretary  had  afterwards  attempted  to 
change  that  policy  and  force  silver  upon  a  man 
who  wanted  gold,  or  gold  upon  a  man  who  wanted 
silver,  and  especially  if  he  had  made  that  attempt 
upon  such  a  critical  period  as  we  have  had  within 
the  last  two  years,  my  judgment  is  it  would  have 
been  very  disastrous.  There  is  a  vast  difference 
between  establishing  a  policy  at  the  beginning 
and  reversing  a  policy  after  it  has  been  long  es- 
tablished, and  especially  after  the  situation  has 
been  changed." 

o 

This  is  sufficient  proof  that  the  Secretary  has 
the  legal  right  to  redeem  greenbacks  and  Treas- 
ury notes  in  silver,  but  is  restrained  by  the  fear 
that  a  different  precedent  having  been  established, 
an  exercise  of  the  lecral  ri^ht  at  this  time  would 

o  o 

be  "very  disastrous."  Senator  Sherman,  in 
March,  1878,  in  testimony  given  before  a  Senate 
Committee,  also  recognized  the  ri^ht  of  the 

o  o 

Government  to   redeem    Greenbacks  with  silver. 

o 

I  quote  from  his  testimony  : 

"  Senator  Bayard. — You  speak  of  resumption 
upon  a  bimetallic  basis  being  easier.  Do  you 
make  that  proposition  irrespective  of  the  readjust- 
ment of  the  relative  values  of  the  two  metals  as 
we  have  declared  them  ? 

"Senator  Sherman. — I  think  so.  Our  mere 
right  to  pay  in  silver  would  deter  a  great  many 


450 

people  from  presenting  notes  for  redemption  who 
would  readily  do  so  it  they  could  get  the  lighter 
and  more  portable  coin  in  exchange.  Besides, 
gold  coin  can  be  exported,  while  silver  coin  could 
not  be  exported,  because  its  market  value  is  much 
less  than  its  coin  value. 

"  Senator  Bayard. — By  the  first  of  July  next, 
or  the  first  of  January  next,  you  have  eighteen  or 
twenty  millions  of  silver  dollars  which  are  in  cir- 
culation and  payable  for  duties,  and  how  long  do 
you  suppose  this  short  supply  of  silver  and  your 
control  of  it  by  your  coinage  will  keep  it  equiva- 
lent to  gold  when  one  is  worth  ten  cents  less  than 

o 

the  other  ? 

"  Secretary  Sherman. — Just  so  long  as  it  can 
be  used  for  any  thing  that  gold  is  used  for.  It 
will  be  worth  in  this  country  the  par  of  gold  until 
it  becomes  so  abundant  and  bulky  that  people 
will  become  tired  of  carrying  it  about;  but  in  our 
country  that  can  be  avoided  by  depositing  it  for 
coin  certificates." 

No  law  has  ever  been  passed  surrendering  the 
Government's  rights  to  redeem  in  silver ;  and  it 

O 

is  as  valuable  now  as  it  was  just  after  the  passage 
of  the  Bland  law  in  1878,  which  restored  silver  as 
a  part  of  our  standard  money.  The  testimony 
above  quoted  was  given  by  Senator  Sherman, 
then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  soon  after  the 
passage  of  the  Bland  Act  and  before  the  resump- 
tion of  specie  payment. 


45* 

Now,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Govern- 
ment has  a  legal  right  to  redeem  in  silver,  and 
thus  protect  the  people  from  the  gold  hoarders 
and  gold  exporters,  the  President  continues  to 
pay  in  gold  even  when  gold  must  be  purchased 
by  an  issue  of  bonds,  and  we  cannot  authorize  the 
issue  of  any  bonds  for  the  purpose  of  buying  gold 
without  endorsing  the  policy  which  permits  the 
drain  of  gold,  and  thus  gives  an  excuse  for  a  bond 
issue.  So  far,  the  surrender  to  the  note-holder  of 
the  right  to  designate  the  coin  of  payment  is 
purely  an  act  of  the  Executive,  and  has  never  re- 
ceived legislative  approval. 

If  it  is  said  that  the  President  will  issue  bonds 
anyhow,  and  we  ought,  therefore,  to  authorize  a 
bond  drawing  a  low  rate  of  interest,  I  reply  that 
until  we  can  restrain  the  President  from  further 
increasing  our  bonded  indebtedness,  and  compel 
him  to  protect  the  Government  by  redeeming  in 
silver  when  that  is  more  convenient,  we  can  bet- 
ter afford  to  allow  him  to  bear  the  responsibility 
alone  than  by  approving  his  course  pledge  the 
Government  to  a  continuation  of  his  policy.  If  the 
Secretary  thinks  that  it  would  now  be  disastrous 
to  depart  from  a  precedent  established  by  a  for- 
mer Secretary  of  the  Treasury  Capitol,  how  much 
more  difficult  it  would  be  to  change  the  policy 
after  endorsing  it  by  an  act  of  Congress. 

So  long  as  the  note  holder  has  the  option, 
bonds  may  be  issued  over  and  over  again  without 


452 

avail.  Gold  will  be  withdrawn  either  directly  or 
indirectly  for  the  purpose  of  buying  bonds,  and  an 
issue  of  bonds  compelled  again,  whenever  bond 
buyers  have  a  surplus  of  money  awaiting  invest- 
ment. This  experiment  has  been  tried  but  instead 
of  convincing  the  President  of  the  utility  of  bond 
issues  it  has  simply  led  him  to  try  a  new  experi- 
ment. By  purchasing  gold  in  Europe  he  may 
enlarge  the  circle  around  which  the  gold  must 
pass,  but  the  only  remedy  is  the  restoration  of  the 
bimetallic  principle  and  the  exercise  of  the  option 
to  redeem  greenbacks  and  treasury  notes  in  silver 
whenever  silver  is  more  convenient  or  whenever 
such  a  course  is  necessary  to  prevent  a  run 
upon  the  Treasury.  To  delay  the  remedy  is  to 
prolong  our  embarrassment ;  to  authorize  bonds 
of  any  kind  is  to  rivet  upon  the  country  the 
policy  which  has  brought  our  present  troubles 
upon  us;  to  authorize  bonds  payable  specifically 
in  gold  is  to  invite  new  difficulties  and  to  estab- 
lish a  still  more  dangerous  precedent. 

I  am  glad  to  hear  some '  of  our  Republican 
friends  denounce  this  gold  bond  proposition,  but 
are  they  not  in  effect  condemning  a  Republican 
policy.  The  gold  bond  is  the  legitimate  result  of 
the  policy  inaugurated  and  continued  by  Republi- 
can administrations.  It  was  a  Republican  admin- 
istration which  first  surrendered  to  the  note 
holder  the  option  to  demand  gold  in  redemption 
of  greenbacks  and  treasury  notes,  and  it  was 


453 

rumored  that  President  Harrison  was  preparing 
to  issue  bonds  to  buy  gold  just  before  his  term 
expired.  The  substitute  for  the  Springer  Bill, 
that  is  the  substitute  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Maine  (Mr.  Reed)  authorized  the  issue  of 
coin  bonds  to  buy  gold  and  yet  the  Republicans 
almost  without  exception  voted  for  that  substitute. 
I  offered  an  amendment  to  the  Reed  substitute, 
an  amendment  which  reafirms  the  Matthews'  reso- 
lution declaring  all  coin  bonds  payable  in  gold  or 
silver,  and  yet  less  than  twenty  (I  think  thirteen) 
Republicans  voted  for  my  amendment.  The  great 
majority  of  the  Republicans  thus  declared  that  coin 
bonds  are  gold  bonds  in  fact.  If  coin  bonds  are 
really  gold  bonds  there  is  less  reason  for  agitation 
about  the  word  grold  in  the  bond.  We  who 

o 

believe  that  greenbacks  and  treasury  notes  are 
redeemable  in  either  gold  or  silver  at  the  option 
of  the  Government — we,  who  believe  in  the  rights 
of  the  Government  to  redeem  its  coin  bond  in 
either  gold  or  silver,  we,  I  say,  can  object  to  gold 
bonds  as  a  violent  change  in  our  monetary  policy, 
but  those  who  insist  that  greenbacks,  treasury 
notes  and  coin  bonds  are  all  payable  in  gold  on 
demand  have  far  less  reason  to  criticise  the  pre- 
cedent. 

I  repeat,  the  President  is  simply  carrying  a  Re- 
publican policy  to  its  logical  conclusion.  If  the 
Republicans  are  in  earnest  in  their  opposition  to 
gold  bonds  let  them  come  with  us  and  help  to 


454 

make  all  bonds  unnecessary  by  restoring  the 
bimetallic  principle  and  exercising  the  option  in- 
vested in  the  Government  to  redeem  coin  obliga- 
tions in  either  gold  or  silver.  The  Government 

O 

is  helpless  so  long  as  it  refuses  to  exercise  this 
option. 

Mr.  Dunn. — Don't  you  want  to  make  it  more 
helpless? 

Mr.  Bryan. — No  sir;  I  do  not  propose  to  make 
it  more  helpless.  I  propose  the  only  policy  which 
will  help  the  Government.  I  propose  the  only 
policy  which  will  stop  the  leak  in  the  Treasury. 
I  only  ask  that  the  Treasury  department  shall  be 
administered  in  behalf  of  the  American  people 
and  not  in  behalf  of  the  Rothschilds  and  in  behalf 
of  the  other  foreign  bankers. 

But,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  desire,  in  conclusion,  to  call 
the  attention  of  our  eastern  brethren  to  the  fact 
that  this  controversy  can  be  no  longer  delayed. 
The  issue  has  come  and  it  must  be  met.  On 
these  financial  questions  we  find  that  the  Demo- 
crats of  the  East  and  the  Republicans  of  the  East 
lock  arms  and  proceed  to  carry  out  their  policies, 
regardless  of  the  interest  and  the  wishes  of  the 
rest  of  the  country.  If  they  form  this  union  of- 
fensive and  defensive,  they  must  expect  that  the 
rest  of  the  people  of  the  country  will  drop  party 
lines,  if  necessary,  and  unite  to  preserve  their 
homes  and  their  welfare. 

If  this   is   sectionalism    the    East  has    set   the 


455 

example.  The  demand  of  our  eastern  brethren, 
both  Republicans  and  Democrats,  is  for  a  steadily 
appreciating  monetary  standard.  They  are  credi- 
tors. They  hold  our  bonds  and  our  mortgages, 
and,  as  the  dollars  increase  in  purchasing  power, 
our  debts  increase  and  the  holders  of  our  bonds 
and  mortgages  gather  in  an  earned  increment. 
They  are  seeking  to  reap  where  they  did  not  sow  ; 
they  are  seeking  to  collect  that  to  which  they  are 
not  entitled  ;  they  favor  spoliation  under  the  forms 
of  law.  The  necessary  result  of  their  policy  is 
the  building  up  of  a  plutocracy  which  will  make 
servants  of  the  rest  of  the  people. 

This  effort  has  gone  on  steadily,  and  for  the 
most  part  stealthily,  during  the  past  twenty  years, 
and  this  gold  bond  proposition  is  but  another 
step  in  the  direction  of  financial  bondage.  But  I 
warn  them  .that  no  slavery  was  ever  perpetual. 
It  has  often  been  attempted,  it  has  even  been 
successfully  attempted  for  a  time,  but  the  shackles 
are  always  open  at  last.  Bondage  is  ephemeral, 
freedom  is  eternal.  "  Weeping  may  endure  for  a 
night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning." 

The  time  will  come  when  the  unjust  demands 
and  the  oppressive  exactions  of  our  eastern 
brethren  will  compel  the  South  and  West  to  unite 
in  the  restoration  of  an  honest  dollar — a  dollar 
which  will  defraud  neither  debtor  nor  creditor,  a 
dollar  based  upon  two  metals,  "  the  gold  and  silver 
coinage  of  our  Constitution."  Thomas  Jefferson 


456 

still  survives  and  his  principles  will  yet  triumph. 
He  taught  equality  before  the  law,  he  taught  that 
all  citizens  are  equally  entitled  to  consideration 
of  Government,  he  taught  that  it  is  the  highest 
duty  of  Government  to  protect  each  citizen  from 
injury  at  the  hands  of  any  other  citizen.  We 
seek  to  apply  his  principles  to-day  to  this  great 
nation  ;  we  seek  to  protect  the  debtor  from  the 
greed  of  the  creditor;  we  seek  to  protect  society 
from  avarice  of  the  capitalist.  We  believe  that  in 
the  restoration  of  bimetallism  we  shall  secure  the 
re-establishment  of  equity  and  restore  prosperity 
to  our  country. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
SPEECH  OF  HON.  CLAUDE  A.  SWANSON 

RETIREMENT  OF  THE   TREASURY  NOTES  AND  THE 
FREE  COINAGE  OF  SILVER. 

"  Mr.  Chairman  :  There  are  two  propositions 
pending  before  us  for  acceptance  or  rejection. 
The  first  proposition  is  the  one  passed  by  this  Re- 
publican House  last  December,  authorizing  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  sell  $500,000,000  of 
three  per  cent,  bonds,  with  which  to  redeem  all 
the  outstanding  Treasury  notes,  impound  them 
in  the  Treasury,  and  thus  contract  the  currency 
of  this  country  to  that  extent. 

"When  this  proposal  was  first  before  the  House 
I  earnestly  opposed  it  in  a  speech,  and  did  my 
utmost  to  defeat  it.  I  then  pointed  out  that  if 
this  bill  should  ever  become  law,  and  the  currency 
should  be  contracted  to  the  extent  designed,  the 
actual  money  in  circulation  among  the  people 
would  be  less  than  half  the  annual  taxes  collected 
from  them,  less  than  half  the  annual  interest  paid, 
and  would  not  be  one- fortieth  of  the  aggregate 
indebtedness  of  this  country ;  yet  this  House, 
with  its  immense  Republican  majority,  by  a  large 

457 


458 

majority  vote  passed  this  bill  to  destroy  this  vast 
amount  of  money  that  had  been  preserved  to  the 
people  by  a  Democratic  House  of  Representa- 
tives. 

"This  bill  went  to  the  Senate  and  there  the 
Democratic  Senators,  led  by  Senator  Jones,  of 
Arkansas,  aided  by  a  few  Republican  and  Popu- 
list Senators,  defeated  that  iniquitous  measure 
and  substituted  in  its  place  a  free-coinage  bill, 
which  that  sterling  Democrat  from  Georgia,  Judge 
Crisp,  now  proposes  that  this  House  shall  adopt 
instead  of  the  bill  it  formerly  passed. 

"Thus  these  two  measures  embody  clearly  and 
distinctly  the  two  ideas  struggling  for  supremacy 
in  our  financial  system. 

"The  proposal  to  sell  bonds  and  to  retire  the 
Treasury  notes,  or  greenbacks,  is  the  only  relief 
offered  by  the  gold  monometallist  to  remedy  the 
present  distressed  situation.  I  am  unalterably 
opposed  to  this.  In  the  last  Democratic  House, 
when  the  friends  of  the  present  Administration 
sought  to  have  a  bill  similar  to  this  passed  and 
the  vast  amount  of  paper  money  destroyed,  I 
earnestly  spoke  and  voted  against  it.  I  am  glad 
to  say  that  the  bill  practically  similar  to  this  was 
defeated  in  the  Democratic  House  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. 

"This  bill,  indorsed  nearly  unanimously  by  the 
tremendous  Republican  majority  in  this  House, 
commits  this  party  in  the  future,  without  doubt 


459 

and  without  question,  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
gold  standard  in  this  country. 

"  The  Republican  majority  in  this  House  ex- 
ceeds 100,  and  the  proposal  for  free  coinage  will 
be  defeated  by  a  vote  equal  to  that  majority. 

"The  Republican  party  during  the  last  canvass 
denounced  the  present  Administration  for  selling 
bonds,  and  yet  its  first  advent  to  power  is  marked 
by  passing  in  this  House,  and  insisting  upon  its 
enactment  into  law,  a  proposition  to  sell  $500,- 
000,000  of  bonds  and  the  retirement  from  circu- 
lation of  that  amount  of  money.  The  Republican 
policy,  as  here  disclosed,  shows  a  complete  alli- 
ance with  the  gold  monometallists  of  this  country. 
It  shows  that  the  Republican  party  still  adheres 
to  the  financial  teachings  of  Senator  John  Sher- 
man, who,  in  1873,  demonetized  silver  without 
cause,  without  excuse,  and  when  it  was  at  a  pre- 
mium over  gold  of  three  per  cent.  It  shows  that 
this  party's  policy  is  a  contraction  and  not  an  ex- 
pansion of  the  currency.  It  proves  to  the  country 
what  I  have  always  known,  that  the  party  that 
wantonly  destroyed  silver  will  never  consent  to 
its  rehabilitation. 

"  In  the  future  no  one  need  be  deceived.  If  he 
believes  in  and  desires  the  remonetization  of  sil- 
ver, he  must  vote  for  and  form  alliances  with  a 
party  different  from  the  Republican  party. 

"I  shall  not  go  over  the  ground  that  I  did  in 
my  former  speeches  and  point  out  the  great  dis- 


460 

asters  that  must  and  will  inevitably  follow  if  this 
Republican  measure  becomes  law  and  one-third 
of  the  legal-tender  money  of  our  country  be  de- 
stroyed without  substituting  anything  in  its  place. 
In  them  I  have  pointed  out  how  this  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  further  stagnation  in  business  and  by  a 
further  fall  in  the  prices  of  all  products  and 
property. 

"  These  two  measures,  as  I  have  said,  present 
clearly  the  two  methods  existing  for  the  settling 
of  our  financial  troubles.  One  is  the  solution  of- 
fered by  the  single-standard  gold  man,  and  the 
other  is  the  solution  offered  by  those  who  believe 
in  bimetallism.  The  solution  of  the  gold  man, 
clearly  stated,  is:  We  have  a  currency  of  about 
$500,000,000  of  Treasury  notes,  about  $210,000,- 
ooo  of  national  bank  notes,  and  about  425,000,000 
of  standard  silver  dollars,  with  only  about  $600,- 
000,000  of  gold.  They  claim  that  all  this  cur- 
rency is  kept  in  circulation  and  at  par  by  being 
practically  redeemed  in  gold.  They  claim  that 
there  is  a  'want  of  confidence '  in  our  ability  to 
redeem  this  in  gold,  and  that  '  to  restore  this  con- 
fidence' we  should  destroy  or  retire  all  of  our 
Treasury  notes.  To  retire  these  Treasury'  notes 
they  propose  to  sell  bonds  either  for  them  or  for 
gold  with  which  to  redeem  them.  When  redeem- 
ed they  propose  that  the  Treasury  notes  shall  be 
either  destroyed  or  locked  up  in  the  Treasury  and 
kept  out  of  circulation. 


461 

"That  this  is  their  solution  is  shown  by  the  re- 
cent sale  of  bonds  and  by  the  present  proposition, 
When  the  Treasury  notes  have  been  destroyed, 
they  propose  to  destroy  the  425,000,000  of  stand- 
ard silver  dollars  in  circulation.  They  claim  that 
this  is  only  fiat  money,  and  that  all  fiat  money 
should  be  retired.  Their  determination  to  de- 
stroy this  large  amount  in  silver  dollars  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  veto  of  the  bill  directing  the  coinage 
of  the  silver  bullion  in  the  Treasury,  and  the  re- 
fusal of  this  single  gold  standard  Republican 
House  to  permit  us  ever  to  vote  on  that  propo- 
sition. 

"They  are  opposed  to  repealing  the  tax  on 
State  banks  and  giving  us  a  local  currency  to 
supplement  our  national  currency.  This  was  dis- 
closed when  the  vote  was  taken  upon  this  ques- 
tion in  the  last  Congress,  when  every  single  gold 
standard  member,  whether  Democrat  or  Repub- 
lican, voted  against  it. 

"  Their  determination  is  to  destroy  all  the  legal- 
tender  money  in  the  country  except  gold  and 
national  bank  notes  redeemable  in  gold.  They 
claim  that  when  this  is  done,  while  the  currency 
will  be  greatly  contracted,  yet  confidence  and 
credit  will  be  restored.  This  is  the  entire  relief 
offered  by  them  to  remove  the  present  difficulties 
and  bring  back  to  the  country  the  general  diffusion 
of  wealth  and  of  prosperity. 

"I  believe  these  remedies  will  but  intensify  and 


462 

make  greater  the  evils  and  distress  which  over- 
shadow us  to-day. 

"The  'want  of  confidence'  in  our  country  to- 
day is  not  a  want  of  confidence  in  our  currency, 
but  a  want  of  confidence  in  the  solvency  and  abil- 
ity of  the  producing  classes  to  meet  their  obliga- 
tions. 

"  I  have  yet  to  see  a  person  who,  when  he  re- 
fused another  credit,  debated  in  his  mind  whether 
the  person  would  pay  him  in  silver,  gold  or  green- 
backs. The  question  in  his  mind  is  whether  the 
person  will  be  able  to  pay  him  at  all.  The  want 
of  confidence,  if  it  exists,  is  because  he  is  afraid 
the  person  could  not  pay  in  any  kind  of  currency. 

"This  want  of  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
debtor  to  pay  will  be  greatly  increased  if  the  single 
gold  standard  men  should  succeed  in  reducing  by 
more  than  half  what  can  be  used  in  payments. 
Activity  in  business,  credit,  confidence,  and  pros- 
perity cannot  be  revived  until  the  value  of  all  prod- 
ucts and  property  is  restored.  People  will  not 
trade  nor  buy  on  a  declining  market.  A  person 
will  not  buy  goods  on  Monday  when  he  expects 
they  will  be  lower  on  Friday.  A  man  will  not 
purchase  a  lot,  house,  or  farm  this  year  when  he 
sees  them  declining  in  value,  as  he  expects  to  be 
able  to  do  so  for  less  the  next  year.  Thus  a  de- 
clining market  means  losses,  stagnation  in  busi- 
ness, and  a  paralysis  of  all  activity. 

"  Falling  prices  also  create  distrust  among  credi- 


463 

tors,  and  hence  a  collection  of  their  debts.  A 
creditor  will  not  extend  time  to  a  debtor  when  he 
perceives  the  property  upon  which  he  depends 
for  payment  each  year  lessening  in  value.  Thus 
failing  prices  necessarily  create  a  liquidation  of  all 
debts. 

"The aggregate  minimum  indebtedness  of  this 
country  in  1890  amounted  to  $20,227,170,546. 
The  collection  of  this  vast  indebtedness  is  pro- 
ceeding not  from  any  want  of  confidence  in  our 
currency,  but  from  a  want  of  confidence  in  the 
security  and  value  of  the  property  pledged  for  its 
payment.  The  truth  of  this  is  witnessed  each 
day. 

"A  bank  loans  money  to  a  man  of  large  busi- 
ness and  great  property.  At  the  time  of  the  loan 
the  value  of  the  property  was  far  in  excess  of  the 
amount  loaned.  The  bank,  seeing  the  great  de- 
preciation in  property,  refuses  to  extend  the  loan, 
forces  collection,  sells  the  property  at  a  greatly- 
reduced  price,  and  the  man  who  was  rich  finds 
himself  bankrupt  in  the  shrinkage  of  values. 

"Let  us  trace  business  in  its  actual  ramifica- 
tions and  see  if  the  sources  of  the  present  troubles 
do  not  arise  from  the  low  price  of  all  products  and 
property. 

"A  bank  in  New  York  loans  money  to  a 
country  bank.  That  bank,  at  a  greater  rate  of 
interest,  loans  it  to  merchants  and  business  men. 
These  buy  or  manufacture  goods  which  they  sell 


464 

to  farmers  or  the  producing  classes.  The  wheat, 
corn,  oats,  tobacco,  hay,  horses,  and  cattle  raised 
by  them  sell  so  low  that  they  are  unable  to  pay 
the  merchant  or  manufacturer.  The  merchants 
and  manufacturers,  not  being  paid,  are  unable  to 
pay  the  bank  from  which  they  borrowed.  This 
bank,  not  having  its  outstanding  notes  paid,  is 
unable  to  meet  its  own  notes  with  the  New  York 
bank.  The  bank  in  New  York,  knowing  the  con- 
ditions, becomes  uneasy.  It  forces  the  country 
bank  to  settle.  This  in  turn  forces  the  merchants 
and  manufacturers  to  settle,  who  in  turn  force 
the  farmer.  The  farmer,  having  disposed  of  his 
crop  for  less  than  cost  of  production,  is  compell- 
ed to  have  his  farm  and  other  property  sold  to 
pay  his  indebtedness.  The  value  of  his  crops 
having  been  greatly  reduced,  his  land  and  prop- 
erty engaged  in  the  business  are  correspondingly 
reduced.  Thus  the  sale,  when  made,  fails  to  pay 
the  merchant ;  the  merchant,  being  unpaid,  can- 
not pay  the  home  bank,  and  this  bank  cannot  pay 
its  depositors  or  the  New  York  bank.  Thus  we 
have  a  bankrupt  farmer,  a  failed  merchant,  a 
broken  manufacturer,  unemployed  laborers,  and 
a  suspended  bank,  with  all  its  evils  and  losses. 
Hundreds  of  cases  like  this  have  occurred  and 
continue  to  occur. 

"  The  single  gold  standard  man  is  blind  enough 
to  tell  you  that  all  this  arises  from  a  lack  of  con- 
fidence in  our  currency,  resulting  from  the  green- 


465 

backs  in  circulation.  His  remedy  is  to  contract 
the  currency,  and  further  lower  the  prices  of  all 
products  and  property.  This  remedy  is  as  stupid 
as  the  old  blood-letting  process  in  medicine, 
which,  when  a  patient  was  dying  for  want  of  blood, 
the  ignorant  doctors  would  bleed  him.  It  is  said 
that  George  Washington  was  killed  by  this  rem- 
edy. It  seems  a  strange  fate  that  the  country  of 
which  he  was  the  father  should  now  suffer  from 
the  same  pernicious  mistake. 

"It is  evident  to  any  thoughtful  and  reasoning 
mind  that  these  deplorable  conditions  arise  from 
the  great,  unnatural  fall  in  the  prices  of  all  prod- 
ucts, and  that  if  the  prices  of  them  continue  to 
decline  these  evils  will  be  greatly  increased.  Re- 
lief from  these  ruinous  conditions  will  not  come 
until  we  witness  an  advance  in  the  prices  of  prod- 
ucts and  of  property. 

"  David  Hume,  the  noted  philosopher  and  his- 
torian, long  ago  said : 

'  If  prices  rise  everything  takes  a  new  face ;  labor  and  in- 
dustry gain  life;  the  merchant  becomes  more  enterprising, 
the  manufacturer  more  diligent  and  skillful,  and  even  the 
farmer  follows  his  plow  with  greater  alacrity  and  attention. 
If  prices  fall  the  poverty,  begging,  and  sloth  that  must  ensue 
are  easily  foreseen.' 

"What  occasioned  this  present  great  fall  in 
prices  was  the  cause  of  our  existing  troubles. 
Whatever  will  restore  these  prices  will  remove 
debt,  will  revive  credit  and  confidence,  give  em- 


466 

ployment  to  labor,  bring  back  business  activity 
and  enterprise,  and  bless  the  land  with  plenty  and 
prosperity. 

"We  who  advocate  bimetallism — that  is,  the 
free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  both  gold  and  silver 
at  the  mints  at  a  fixed  ratio — believe  that  the  great 
fall  in  prices  results  from  the  demonetization  of 
silver  and  the  adoption  of  gold  alone  as  the 
standard  of  value.  We  believe  that,  this  being 
the  cause,  prices  will  be  enhanced  or  restored 
when  we  remonetize  silver  and  let  our  standard 
of  value  rest,  as  formerly,  upon  both  gold  and 
silver.  We  claim  that  the  value  of  everything  is 
regulated  by  the  great  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
That  this  great  and  universal  law  ot  supply  and 
demand  regulates  the  value  of  money  when  ex- 
changed for  commodities. 

"We  claim  that  as  society  has  progressed, 
wealth  increased,  commerce  enlarged,  and  tre- 
mendous new  enterprises  been  undertaken,  taxes, 
interest,  and  all  fixed  charges  been  augmented, 
the  demand  for  money  has  become  greater ;  that 
while  the  demand  for  money  has  greatly  increased, 
yet  the  supply  of  it  has  been  reduced  half  since 
1873,  when  silver  was  demonetized  and  gold  made 
the  standard  of  value  or  money  of  final  payment; 
that  the  demand  for  money  of  final  payment  hav- 
ing increased  and  the  supply  lessened  by  half,  the 
value  of  things  exchanged  for  it,  or  measured  by 
it,  must  necessarily  be  reduced  correspondingly. 


467 

"Thus  the  natural  result  of  destroying  half  the 
money  of  the  world  would  be  to  greatly  appre- 
ciate the  value  of  the  remaining  half  and  re- 
duce to  that  extent  the  value  of  all  products  and 
property  exchanged  for  or  measured  by  it. 

"John  Locke,  the  greatest  of  all  English  think- 
ers, many  years  ago  said : 

'  For  the  value  of  money,  in  general,  is  the  quantity  of  all 
the  money  in  the  world  in  proportion  to  all  the  trade.' 

"This  is  a  profund  truth,  and  but  emphasizes 
what  I  here  insist  upon,  that  as  our  trade  has 
wonderfully  increased  since  1873,  and  as  one-half 
of  our  primary  money  was  then  destroyed,  the  re- 
sult has  been  to  double  the  price  of  gold,  and 
hence  reduce  by  half  the  value  of  everything  sold 
for  gold. 

"  John  Stuart  Mill,  the  great  thinker  and  writer 
upon  this  question,  has  well  said: 

'  That  an  increase  in  the  quantity  of  money  raises  prices 
and  a  diminution  lowers  them,  is  the  most  elementary  propo- 
sition in  the  theory  of  coinage,  and  without  it  we  should  have 
no  key  to  any  of  the  others.' 

•'This  self-evident  truth  must  show  that  the 
destruction  of  half  of  the  money  of  the  world 
must  result  in  an  equal  reduction  in  the  price  of 
all  commodities. 

"This  vital  truth  was  recognized  by  the  fathers 
of  this  Republic  when  our  Government  was  or- 
ganized. 


468 

"Alexander  Hamilton  in  his  famous  report  of 
1791,  said: 

'  To  annul  the  use  of  either  metal  as  money  is  to  abridge 
the  quantity  of  circulating  medium  and  is  liable  to  all  the  ob- 
jections which  arise  from  a  comparison  of  the  benefits  of  a  full 
with  a  scanty  circulation.' 

"The  immortal  Jefferson,  who  had  the  interest 
of  the  people  at  heart  more  than  any  American 
leader  and  who  was  the  father  of  the  Democratic 
party,  in  February,  1792,  said: 

'  I  concur  with  you  that  the  unit  must  stand  on  both 
metals. ' 

"  I  stand  here  to-day  as  a  Democrat,  receiving 
my  inspiration  from  Jefferson  and  not  from  the 
latter-day  saints  of  the  party,  and  repeat  that  the 
'  unit  of  value  must  stand  on  both  metals.' 
That  is  Democracy.  That  is  bimetallism. 

"In  1852,  R.  M.  T.  Hunter,  one  of  the  most 
talented  and  distinguished  sons  of  Virginia,  in  a 
report  made  to  the  Senate  as  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Finance,  said  : 

'  But  the  mischief  would  be  great,  indeed,  if  all  the  world 
were  to  adopt  but  one  of  the  precious  metals  as  the  standard 
of  value.  To  adopt  gold  alone  would  diminish  the  specie  cur- 
rency more  than  half,  and  the  reduction  the  other  way,  should 
silver  be  taken  as  the  only  standard,  would  be  large  enough  to 
prove  highly  disastrous  to  the  human  race.  We  require,- then, 
for  this  reason,  the  double  standard  of  gold  and  silver,  but 
above  all  do  we  require  both  to  counteract  the  tendency  of  the 
specie  standard  to  contract  under  the  vast  increase  of  the  value 
:f  the  property  of  the  world.' 


469 

"  Thus  forty-two  years  ago,  when  we  had  the 
double  standard  and  were  blessed  with  unex- 
ampled prosperity  and  progress,  this  wise  states- 
man and  sage  of  Virginia  prophesied  the  great 
mischief  and  evils  which  would  inevitably  follow 
if  we  should  ever  adopt  but  one  metal  as  our 
standard  of  value.  The  Republican  party  in 
1873  did  just  what  this  wise  Democrat  had  over 
twenty  years  before  warned  them  against.  The 
debt,  the  misery,  the  failures,  the  stagnation  in 
business,  the  unemployed  labor,  the  low  price  of 
all  products  and  property,  and  the  scarcity  of 
money  bear  evidence  to-day  of  a  complete  fulfil- 
ment of  this  prediction.  Thus  we  can  trace  back 
clearly  and  distinctly,  our  present  distress  to  the 
existence  of  the  gold  standard.  Relief  cannot 
and  will  not  come  until  we  abandon  this  and  again 
put  our  standard  of  value  upon  both  gold  and  sil- 
ver. But  I  will  not  stop  the  investigation  of  this 
question  here. 

I  have  proven  that  the  present  ruinous  condi- 
tions result  from  the  prevalence  of  this  great  fall 
in  the  price  of  everything,  and  that  relief  will  only 
come  from  a  rise  in  prices. 

"  I  will  now  investigate  the  history  of  the  rise 
and  fall  in  the  price  of  commodities,  so  that  we 
can  also  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  present  low 
prices  by  historical  data. 

"  The  London  Economist,  a  paper  of  world-wide 
fame  for  ability  and  statistical  knowledge,  has 


470 

compiled  the  average  prices  of  twenty-two  lead- 
ing commodities  on  the  ist  of  January  of  each 
year  from  the  year  1 846,  which  is  very  instructive 
and  significant.  This  compilation  shows  that  the 
price  of  these  twenty-two  leading  commodities 
increased  in  value  from  1845  to  l%73>  and  that 
from  1873  to  the  ist  of  January,  1892,  they  had 
fallen  about  33  per  cent. 

"Augustus  Sauerbeck,  of  the  London  Statis- 
tical Society,  a  man  of  eminence  and  ability,  has 
investigated  the  prices  of  forty-five  leading  and 
representative  commodities  on  the  London  market 
with  the  same  astounding  results,  that  the  average 
price  of  these  gradually  increased  until  1873, 
when  the  increase  ceased  and  a  decline  com- 
menced, which  amounted,  with  the  forty-five  com- 
modities, to  about  34  per  cent,  in  1892. 

"  Dr.  Soetbeer,  statistician  for  Hamburg,  Ger- 
many, and  a  famous  economic  authority,  compiled 
the  prices  of  100  leading  articles  on  the  Hamburg 
market  and  fourteen  of  British  exports  with  the 
same  astounding  result,  that  commencing  with 
1873  the  average  price  of  these  had  gradually 
declined,  until  in  1891  their  decline  amounted  to 
22  per  cent. 

"In  1891  a  committee  of  the  United  States 
Senate  investigated  the  prices  in  this  country  of 
223  articles,  and  in  a  report  to  Congress  shows 
that  since  1873  tne  average  price  of  these  has  de- 
clined 28  per  cent. 


"In  1872  the  price  of  wheat  was  $1.24  per 
bushel;  in  1894  it  was  49  cents  per  bushel.  In 
1873  the  price  of  cotton  was  20.14  cents  per 
pound;  in  1894  it  was  6.94  cents  per  pound. 

"  Statistics  will  exhibit  the  same  great  fall  in  the 
price  of  tobacco,  corn,  oats,  cattle  and  horses,  as 
well  as  in  other  commodities.  These  statistics 
are  undisputed  even  by  the  gold  monometallists. 
They  are  gathered  from  sources  so  reliable,  pre- 
sented by  men  of  such  reputation  and  authority, 
so  in  accord  with  our  own  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence, that  they  cannot  and  will  not  be  denied. 
They  all  agree  in  one  thing — that,  commencing 
with  the  year  1873,  the  world  over,  prices  have 
fearfully  declined.  Consequently  it  is  evident 
that  at  that  time  something  must  have  occurred 
to  occasion  a  condition  so  world-wide. 

"We  examine  and  we  find  that  in  1872  Norway 
and  Sweden  substituted  the  gold  standard  for  the 
silver  standard.  We  find  that  in  1873  the  United 
States  abandoned  the  double  standard  of  gold 
and  silver  and  adopted  the  single  gold  standard. 
We  find  that  the  same  year  Germany  went  from 
the  silver  standard  to  the  single  gold  standard. 
We  find  that  in  a  very  short  time  after  Germany 
does  this  France  and  the  Latin  Union  suspend  the 
free  coinage  of  silver  and  substitute  the  gold 
standard.  Thus  about  this  time  occurred  a  con- 
vulsion in  the  financial  world  surpassing  any 
which  ever  transpired  in  the  physical  world.  The 


472 

great  commercial  nations  of  the  world  at  this 
time  went  from  the  double  standard  of  value  to 
the  single  gold  standard. 

"It  is  impossible  to  point  out  anything  else  that 
happened  at  this  time  to  precipitate  a  fall  in 
prices. 

"Why  should  prices  be  on  an  ascending  plane 
until  1873  and  then  suddenly  take  a  declining 
plane,  which  becomes  greater  each  year  ?  There 
were  no  great  inventions  in  that  year  to  cheapen 
production  and  hence  to  reduce  prices.  That 
year  marked  no  overproduction  so  as  to  account 
for  the  sudden  change. 

"Any  thoughtful  mind,  bent  upon  the  ascer- 
tainment of  the  truth,  must  be  convinced  beyond 
doubt  that  the  low  prices  the  world  over,  com- 
mencing with  the  demonetization  of  silver,  must 
have  been  caused  by  that  and  nothing  else. 

"I  have  proven  that  all  the  accepted  authorities 
upon  financial  questions  agree  that  when  you 
lessen  the  amount  of  primary  money  you  lower 
the  price  of  everything  exchanged  for  money.  I 
have  shown  that  the  wisest  of  statesmen  and 
thinkers  years  before  prophesied  that  if  the  world 
should  ever  discard  either  of  the  two  money  met- 
als and  adopt  only  one  lower  prices  would  result 
and  the  very  diastrous  conditions  that  now  con- 
front us  would  inevitably  come.  I  have  traced 
from  facts  and  statistics,  undisputed  by  anyone, 
that  the  fall  in  prices  commenced,  as  foretold, 


473 

precisely  at  the  time  that  the  world  destroyed  sil- 
ver as  one  of  the  money  metals.  Can  arguments 
or  facts  be  more  conclusive  ?  I  have  shown  that 
this  fall  in  prices  commenced  in  1873,  and  resulted 
from  demonetizing  silver  and  destroying  its  mon- 
etary functions.  Thus  the  proper  relief  from  the 
present  distress  is  plain  and  unmistakable. 

"The  relief  which  will  restore  prices,  revive 
business,  encourage  industries,  inspire  confidence, 
give  employment  to  labor,  and  pay  debts  is  the 
restoration  of  silver  as  one  of  the  money  metals, 
as  it  existed  prior  to  1873. 

"We  must  right  the  crime  of  that  year.  We 
must  leave  the  darkness  in  which  we  are  now 
groping  and  return  to  the  light  and  sunshine  we 
then  left. 

"We  do  not  know  where  this  new  departure 
on  the  gold  standard  will  take  us.  We  do  not 
even  know  that  prices  have  touched  the  bottom. 
We  have  no  experience  behind  us  to  tell  us  what 
will  be  the  ultimate  effect  of  the  gold  standard. 
The  world  never  tried  the  gold  standard  prior  to 
1873.  Since  its  adoption,  in  falling  prices,  in  the 
vast  accumulation  of  debt,  in  the  numerous  and 
immense  failures,  in  the  frequent  and  great  panics, 
in  paralyzed  business,  in  the  mistrust  and  wretch- 
edness which  overshadow  the  country,  we  witness 
its  ruinous  effects. 

"  I  am  no  alarmist,  but  thought  and  reflection 
teach  me  that  if  the  gold  standard  is  to  be  per- 


474 

manently  maintained  and  the  policies  and  designs 
of  its  advocates,  as  here  disclosed,  to  be  carried 
out  that  we  will  witness  a  yet  greater  fall  in  the 
prices  of  all  commodities,  and  a  further  shrinkage 
in  all  values,  with  their  attendant  evils.  It  is  in- 
evitable. 

"  We  have  just  completed  a  reassessment  of 
the  land  in  my  home  county,  Pittsylvania,  and  in 
the  city  of  .Danville,  situated  therein.  The  les- 
sons taught  by  it  are  significant.  It  presents  how 
frightfully  the  gold  standard  is  shrinking  the  value 
of  lands.  In  1890  the  real  estate  in  Pittsylvania 
county  was  assessed  at  $4,012,464.  In  1895  the 
assessment  amounted  to  only  $3,115,938,  being 
$846,5261655  in  1895  tnan  m  J89O.  With  all  the 
buildings  and  improvements  put  upon  the  lands 
their  value  was  reduced  in  five  years  over  20  per 
cent.  The  supply  of  land  did  not  increase  during 
the  five  years,  while  the  demand  did  on  account 
of  increased  population.  Thus,  under  natural  con- 
ditions, we  should  have  expected  an  increase  in- 
stead of  a  decrease  in  its  value  from  189010  1895. 
The  lands  there  will  now  scarcely  bring  half  as 
much  as  they  would  prior  to  the  demonetization 
of  silver. 

"  The  assessment  for  the  city  of  Danville  pre- 
sents the  same  remarkable  conditions.  In  1890 
the  real  estate  assessed  in  Danville  amounted  to 
$5,170,928.  In  1895  it  amounted  to  only  $4,650,- 
406,  being  a  reduction  of  $520,522.  Here  is  a 


475 

city  with  great  improvements  and  buildings  during 
this  time,  with  increased  population;  yet,  including 
all  these,  a  reduction  in  five  years  of  over  half  a 
million  of  dollars  in  real  estate  values. 

"  When  we  ponder  these  startling  figures,  we 
can  readily  understand  how  farmers  and  business 
men  who  were  formerly  prosperous  and  rich  find 
themselves  bankrupt  and  impoverished.  They 
have  been  ruined  not  by  any  fault  of  their  own, 
but  by  the  shrinkage  in  the  value  of  their  prop- 
erty. This  shrinkage  continues  under  this  single 
gold  standard,  and  no  one  knows  when  it  will 
cease. 

"  The  world's  supply  of  gold  is  too  small  to 
give  value  to  its  immense  amount  of  property. 
Each  year  witnesses  a  greater  struggle  for  its  pos- 
session, and  hence  a  greater  sacrifice  of  property 
to  obtain  it. 

"  The  only  way  to  remove  the  present  evils  and 
prevent  the  greater  ones  which  await  us  is  to 
again  give  silver  the  right  of  free  and  unlimited 
coinage  at  the  mints. 

"  This  is  the  relief  proposed  by  us  in  opposition 
to  the  Republican  measure  to  sell  five  hundred  mil- 
lions of  bonds  and  retire  that  amount  of  paper 
money.  We  are  prepared  to  appeal  to  the  coun- 
try upon  the  two  methods  of  relief  here  presented. 

"The  gold  monometallist  cannot  deceive  the 
people  by  a  pretended  friendship  for  silver  in  ad- 
vocating an  international  agreement.  There  is 


476 

not  the  remotest  chance  of  an  international  agree- 
ment. The  last  hopes  of  one  have  disappeared. 
We  were  told  to  wait  only  until  Lord  Salisbury 
and  the  Tory  party  of  England  should  come  into 
power  and  soon  an  agreement  would  be  reached. 
They  have  attained  power  by  an  immense  major- 
ity and  have  distinctly  stated  that  England  has  no 
intention  of  changing  her  present  gold  standard 
or  entering  into  any  international  agreement  for 
the  coinage  of  silver.  France  and  Germany  have 
distinctly  stated  that  they  would  be  parties  to  no 
agreement  without  England.  Thus  there  is  no 
hope  for  any  international  agreement.  It  is  use- 
less to  discuss  an  international  agreement  which 
will  never  come.  The  people  who  advocate  delay- 
ing action  upon  the  silver  question  until  an  inter- 
national agreement  can  be  reached  are  not  friendly 
to  silver  and  only  indulge  in  it  to  delay  action  by 
creating  hopes  which  will  never  be  realized.  The 
people  of  the  United  States  must  continue  the 
present  gold  standard  or  must  alone  adopt  the 
double  standard  of  gold  and  silver.  This  is  plain 
and  clear.  It  is  an  issue  which  must  be  met,  and 
which  politicians  may  try  but  they  cannot  dodge 
nor  deceive  the  people  upon. 

"  If  one  favors  the  gold  standard  then  he  must 
approve  the  recent  sales  of  bonds,  the  present 
Republican  measure  to  sell  $500,000,000  worth 
of  bonds  to  retire  that  amount  of  paper  money, 
and  finally  to  destroy  all  the  standard  silver  dol- 


477 

lars.  If  the  gold  standard  is  to  be  maintained  all 
of  this  will  inevitably  follow.  It  cannot  and  will 
not  be  prevented.  If  one  is  opposed  to  all  this 
and  believes  that  it  will  bring  disaster  and  not  relief, 
then  he  should  advocate  that  the  United  States 
should  again  reopen  its  mints  to  the  free  and  un- 
limited coinage  of  silver  and  again  make  silver 
money  of  primary  payment. 

"I  believe  this.  I  am  opposed  to  any  sale  of 
bonds.  I  am  opposed  to  retiring  the  greenbacks 
and  contracting  the  currency.  I  believe  that  the 
coin  notes  should  be  redeemed  in  either  gold  or 
silver,  at  the  option  of  the  Government  and  not 
of  the  holder.  I  believe  that  a  continuance  of  the 
gold  standard  will  precipitate  a  continued  and  a 
frightful  fall  in  the  prices  of  all  commodities.  I 
believe  that  it  has  more  than  doubled  all  debts, 
taxes,  interest,  and  fixed  charges.  I  believe  that 
when  our  mints  are  opened  to  silver,  prices  will 
advance  and  the  present  troubles  will  disappear. 

"Being  convinced  that  there  is  no  chance  for  an 
international  agreement,  I  am  prepared  to  vote 
for  this  country  at  once  to  resume  the  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver. 

"No  evils  which  the  distorted  imaginations  of 
those  who  oppose  this  have  presented  can  equal 
those  which  I  am  convinced  will  come  if  we  con- 
tinue the  single  gold  standard. 

"I  am  convinced  that  the  United  States  is  able 
to  do  this  and  maintain  all  the  silver  coined  at  a 


478 

parity  with  gold.  I  believe  that  when  this  is  done 
silver  bullion  will  rise  in  value  until  it  is  worth 
the  coinage  value.  Every  silver  dollar  coined  to- 
day is  at  a  par  with  gold.  It  is  only  the  uncoined 
silver  that  is  not  at  par.  All  that  will  be  coined 
at  our  mints  and  made  a  legal  tender  will  circulate 
at  par  with  gold.  We  have  experience  in  the 
past  that  should  convince  us  that  the  United 
States  is  able  to  do  this. 

"France,  from  1803  to  1873,  by  having  her 
mints  open  to  the  free  coinage  of  both  gold  and 
silver  at  the  ratio  of  15^  to  i,  maintained  that 
parity  between  them  the  world  over.  She  was 
able  to  do  this  despite  the  great  disparity  existing 
during  that  time  in  the  production  and  quantity 
of  gold  and  silver.  We  to-day  are  more  prepared 
to  do  this  than  was  France  when  she  maintained  it. 

"  Statistics  in  1870  show  that  France  had  about 
10  per  cent,  of  the  imports  and  exports  of  the 
world.  In  1889  the  United  States  had  nearly  10 
per  cent,  of  the  imports  and  exports  of  the  world. 
Mulhall,  the  world's  greatest  statistician,  shows 
that  the  productive  power  of  the  United  States  is 
three  times  as  great  as  was  that  of  France  in  1870 
in  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  In  1870 
France  furnished  less  than  12  per  cent,  of  the 
world's  great  agricultural  products,  while  to-day 
we  furnish  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  world's  sup- 
ply, France  in  1870  produced  about  13  per  cent. 
of  the  world's  manufactures,  and  the  United 


479 

States  to-day  furnishes  almost  31  per  cent,  of  the 
world's  entire  product.  In  1870  France  had  about 
7^  per  cent,  of  the  world's  railway  mileage,  while 
the  United  States  now  has  about  44  per  cent,  of 
the  world's  entire  mileage.  In  1870  France's 
banking  power  in  comparison  with  that  of  the 
world  was  4  per  cent,  and  the  United  States  to- 
day has  32  per  cent,  of  that  of  the  world.  In  in- 
ternal commerce  and  business  we  greatly  exceed 
the  proportion  that  was  then  possessed  by  France. 
Our  wealth  to-day  in  comparison  with  that  of  the 
world  far  exceeds  what  France's  was  in  compari- 
son with  that  of  the  world  in  1870.  Thus,  by 
whatever  test  measured,  the  United  States  is  able 
to  do  more  than  France  did  at  that  time.  Yet 
from  1803  to  1873  France  was  able  to  maintain 
the  parity  between  gold  and  silver  the  world  over 
at  the  ratio  of  15^  to  i.  She  did  this  despite  the 
fact,  that  at  that  time  the  average  number  of 
ounces  of  silver  in  the  world  was  thirty  times  as 
great  as  the  average  number  of  ounces  of  gold. 
To-day  the  number  of  ounces  of  silver  in  the 
world  is  about  sixteen  times  as  great  as  the  num- 
ber of  ounces  of  gold — the  ratio  at  which  we  pro- 
pose to  resume  coinage.  Thus  to  resume  coinage 
as  proposed  in  the  United  States,  with  all  its 
greater  ability  and  power,  would  only  have  to  do 
half  as  much  as  France  accomplished  for  seventy 
years.  There  should  be  no  question  that  we  can 
do  this.  We  are  safe  in  making  the  venture. 


480 

Success  will  crown  our  efforts.  All  we  need  is 
the  courage  and  the  resolution  to  establish  our 
own  financial  system,  suited  to  our  wants  and 
needs.  I  am  convinced  by  thought  and  study 
that  the  United  States  is  amply  able  to  resume 
the  coinage  of  silver  and  maintain  parity.  I  am 
convinced  that  when  this  is  done,  prices  will  be 
restored  and  general  prosperity  and  progress  will 
return.  I  am  convinced  that  the  paths  that  the 
single  gold  standard  men  are  trying  to  entice  us 
into  will  but  carry  us  further  into  the  night  of 
darkness  and  plunge  us  deeper  into  the  abyss  of 
sorrow  and  distress. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  this  great  issue  is  now  before 
the  American  people,  and  they  are  stirred  upon  it 
as  they  were  never  stirred  before.  They  recog- 
nize the  vast  importance  and  the  far-reaching 
consequences  which  will  result  from  the  proper 
settlement  of  this  vital  question. 

"  The  coming  great  conflict,  which  will  be  fought 
to  the  finish,  is  the  battle  of  the  standards.  The 
people  have  become  tired  of  the  miserable  make- 
shifts and  the  temporary  policies  which  the  poli- 
ticians have  devised  to  avoid  the  settlement  of  this 
great  question.  The  people  can  no  longer  be 
deceived. 

"The  great  masses  of  the  people  are  convinced 
that  the  continuance  of  the  gold  standard  only 
benefits  the  capitalists  and  money  lenders,  and  is 
destructive  of  the  interests  of  the  laborer,  farmer, 


481 

merchant  and  the  business  man.  Politicians  may 
try,  but  they  cannot  create  false  issues.  Issues 
exist  in  the  condition  and  in  the  minds  of  the 
people,  and  they  must  be  met.  This  great  prob- 
lem cannot  be  brushed  aside.  Each  year  it  rises 
into  more  and  more  importance. 

"The  intense  struggle  of  the  people  for  this 
reform  is  but  a  supreme  effort  on  their  part  to  re- 
lease themselves  from  the  greed,  avarice  and 
domination  of  the  moneyed  classes. 

"The  boast  of  the  Democracy  in  all  the  years 
of  its  history  has  been  that  it  is  the  party  of^  the 
common  people ;  that  it  is  the  champion  of  the 
rights  of  the  toiling  laboring  masses.  It  has 
never  espoused  the  cause  of  classes  seeking  to 
enrich  themselves  by  depredation  upon  the 
masses.  It  is  too  late  for  it  to  do  so  now.  It 
cannot  climb  upon  the  gold  standard  platform 
without  trespassing  upon  ground  long  since  occu- 
pied by  and  belonging  to  the  Republican  party. 

"The  issue  is  clear.  The  duty  of  Democracy 
is  plain.  It  should  make  common  cause  with  the 
people,  remain  true  to  its  traditions  and  history, 
and  carry  the  country  back  to  that  system  and  to 
those  principles  which  our  fathers  founded  and 
which  gave  us  great  prosperity  and  wealth,  and 
the  departure  from  which  has  brought  us  to  our 
present  woes  and  distresses."  (Applause.) 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

THE    FIRES    STILL   BURN. 

The  camp  fires  of  patriotism  still  burn.  The 
worm  is  not  dead.  The  defeat  of  bimetallism  is 
only  temporary.  It  was  not  an  ignominious  one. 
All  great  causes  and  especially  all  great  reforms 
in  the  interests  of  the  masses  have  had  set  backs. 
The  grand  cause  of  free  silver  still  has  its  able 
champions  whose  felicity  it  will  soon  be  to  see  the 
consummation  of  the  plans  they  are  so  earnestly 
advocating,  and  the  application  of  the  doctrine  in 
which  they  believe. 

The  last  presidential  election  was  a  close  con- 
test. Republicans  and  gold  standard  advocates 
made  a  grand  blare  of  trumpets  when  the  election 
of  Major  McKinley  was  established.  They  drew 
lessons  and  pointed  morals  from  the  results  of 
the  contest  which  were  not  warranted  by  the 
premises.  Taking  into  consideration,  as  they  did, 
the  bare  fact  of  McKinley's  election  without 
noting  the  circumstances  leading  up  to  it,  and 
without  considering  the  extremely  large  vote 
polled  by  the  candidate  of  the  bimetallic  stand- 
ard. Indicating  the  opinion  of  a  very  large  body 
(482) 


483 

of  voters,  they  announced  in  flaring  and  exagger- 
ated terms  what  they  claimed  as  an  overwhelm- 
ing defeat  of  free  silver.  Frequently  after  the 
election  of  Nov.  4,  '96,  one  heard  in  the  public 
places  and  read  in  the  press  statements  to  the 
effect  that  a  severe  and  impressive  lesson  had 
been  administered  to  the  Free  Silver  party,  and 
that  for  years  hence,  after  McKinley  had  given 
the  country  a  magnificent  administration,  there 
would  not  be  enough  free  silver  men  left  to  carry 
on  a  campaign.  To  use  the  expression  William 
Bryan  adopted  with  telling  force  so  often,  "Truth 
crushed  to  earth  shall  rise  again."  The  six 
million  voters  for  free  silver  have  not  changed 
their  politics.  If  they  live  they'll  be  at  the  polls 
four  years  hence  voting  for  the  same  principles 
they  voted  for  last  election,  and  they  will  bring 
thousands  with  them  who  will  be  brought  to  see 
the  beauties  and  worth  of  the  bimetallic  standard 
and  who  will  vote  with  them. 

On  November  6,  two  days  after  the  election, 
and  when  enough  of  the  figures  were  in  to  estab- 
lish beyond  dispute  the  election  of  Mr.  McKinley, 
Mr.  Bryan  made  the  following  announcement 
which  was  received  with  universal  satisfaction  all 
over  the  country  and  was  given  much  favorable 
comment  abroad.  Mr.  Bryan  said  : 

'•  Conscious  that  millions  of  loyal  hearts  are 
saddened  by  temporary  defeat,  I  beg  to  offer  a 
word  of  hope  and  encouragement.  No  cause 


4*4 

ever  had  supporters  more  brave,  earnest,  and  de- 
voted than  those  who  have  espoused  the  cause  of 
bimetallism.  They  have  fought  from  conviction, 
and  have  fought  with  all  the  zeal  which  conviction 

o 

inspires.  Events  will  prove  whether  they  are 
right  or  wrong.  Having  done  their  duty  as  they 
saw  it,  they  have  nothing  to  regret. 

"The  Republican  candidate  has  been  heralded 
as  the  advance  agent  of  prosperity.  If  his  poli- 
cies bring  real  prosperity  to  the  American  peo- 
ple, those  who  opposed  him  will  share  in  that 
prosperity.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  his  policies 
prove  an  injury  to  the  people  generally,  those  of 
his  supporters  who  do  not  belong  to  the  office- 
holding  class,  or  to  the  privileged  classes,  will 
suffer  in  common  with  those  who  opposed  him. 

"  The  friends  of  bimetallism  have  not  been  van- 
quished ;  they  have  simply  been  overcome.  They 
believe  that  the  gold  standard  is  a  conspiracy  of 
the  money  changers  against  the  welfare  of  the 
human  race,  and  until  convinced  of  their  error 
they  will  continue  the  warfare  against  it. 

"  The  contest  has  been  waged  this  year  under 
great  embarrassments  and  against  great  odds. 
For  the  first  time  during  this  generation  public 
attention  has  been  centered  upon  the  money 
question  as  the  paramount  issue,  and  this  has 
been  done  in  spite  of  all  attempts  upon  the  part 
of  our  opponents  to  prevent  it.  The  Republican 
Convention  held  out  the  delusive  hope  of  inter- 


national  bimetallism,  while  Republican  leaders 
labored  secretly  for  gold  monometallism.  Gold- 
standard  Democrats  have  publicly  advocated  the 
election  of  the  Indianapolis  ticket,  while  they  la- 
bored secretly  for  the  election  of  the  Republican 
ticket.  The  trusts  and  corporations  have  tried  to 
excite  a  fear  of  lawlessness,  while  they  themselves 
have  been  defying  the  law,  and  American  finan- 
ciers have  boasted  that  they  were  the  custodians 
of  National  honor,  while  they  were  secretly  bar- 
tering away  the  Nation's  financial  independence. 

"  But,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Administra- 
tion and  its  supporters,  in  spite  of  the  threats  of 
money  loaners  at  home  and  abroad,  in  spite  of 
the  coercion  practiced  by  corporate  employers, 
in  spite  of  trusts  and  syndicates,  in  spite  of  an 
enormous  Republican  campaign  fund,  and  in  spite 
of  the  influence  of  a  hostile  daily  press,  bimetal- 
lism has  almost  triumphed  in  its  first  great  fight. 
The  loss  of  a  few  States,  and  that,  too,  by  very 
small  pluralities,  has  defeated  bimetallism  for  the 
present,  but  bimetallism  emereges  from  the  con- 
test stronger  than  it  was  four  months  ago. 

"  I  desire  to  commend  the  work  of  the  three 
National  Committees  which  have  joined  in  the 
management  of  this  campaign.  Co-operation 
between  the  members  of  distinct  political  organi- 
zations is  always  difficult,  but  it  has  been  less  so 
this  year  than  usual.  Interest  in  a  common  cause 
of  great  importance  has  reduced  friction  to  a 


486 

minimum.  I  hereby  express  my  personal  grati- 
tude to  the  individual  members  as  well  as  the  ex- 
ecutive officers  of  the  National  Committee  of  the 
Democratic,  Populist,  and  Silver  Parties  for  their 
efficient,  untiring,  and  unselfish  labors.  They 
have  laid  the  foundation  for  future  success,  and 
will  be  remembered  as  pioneers  when  victory  is 
at  last  secured. 

"  No  personal  or  political  friend  need  grieve 
because  of  my  defeat.  My  ambition  has  been  to 
secure  immediate  legislation,  rather  than  to  enjoy 
the  honors  of  office,  and,  therefore,  defeat  brings  to 
me  no  feeling  of  personal  loss.  Speaking  for  the 
wife  who  has  shared  my  labors,  as  well  as  for  my- 
self, I  desire  to  say  that  we  have  been  amply 
repaid  for  all  that  we  have  done. 

"In  the  love  of  millions  of  our  fellow-citizens, 
so  kindly  expressed,  in  knowledge  gained  by  per- 
sonal contact  with  the  people,  and  in  broadened 
sympathies,  we  find  full  compensation  for  what- 
ever efforts  we  have  put  forth.  Our  hearts  have 
been  touched  by  the  devotion  of  friends,  and  our 
lives  shall  prove  our  appreciation  of  the  affection 
of  the  plain  people,  an  affection  which  we  prize 
as  the  richest  reward  which  this  campaign  has 
brought. 

"In  the  face  of  an  enemy  rejoicing  in  its  victory, 
let  the  roll  be  called  for  the  next  engagement,  and 
uro-e  all  friends  of  bimetallism  to  renew  their  alle- 

O 

giance  to  the  cause.     If  we  are  right,  as  I  believe 


we  are,  we  shall  yet  triumph.  Until  convinced  of 
his  error,  let  each  advocate  of  bimetallism  con- 
tinue the  work.  Let  all  silver  clubs  retain  their 
organization,  hold  regular  meetings,  and  circulate 
literature.  Our  opponents  have  succeeded  in 
this  campaign,  and  must  now  put  their  theories  to 
the  test.  Instead  of  talking  mysteriously  about 
'sound  money'  and  'an  honest  dollar,'  they  must 
now  elaborate  and  defend  a  financial  system. 
Every  step  taken  by  them  should  be  publicly  con- 
sidered by  the  silver  clubs.  Our  cause  has  pros- 
pered most  where  the  money  question  has  been 
longest  discussed  among  the  people.  During  the 
next  four  years  it  will  be  studied  all  over  this 
nation  even  more  than  it  has  been  studied  in  the 
past. 

"The  year  1900  is  not  far  away.  Before  that 
year  arrives,  international  bimetallism  will  cease 
to  deceive ;  before  that  year  arrives,  those  who 
have  called  themselves  gold  standard  Democrats 
will  become  bimetallists  and  be  with  us,  or  they 
will  become  Republicans  and  be  open  enemies  ; 
before  that  year  arrives,  trusts  will  have  con- 
vinced still  more  people  that  a  trust  is  a  menace 
to  private  welfare  and  public  safety ;  before  that 
year  arrives,  the  evil  effects  of  a  gold  standard 
will  be  even  more  evident  than  they  are  now,  and 
the  people  then  ready  to  demand  an  American 
financial  policy  for  the  American  people  will  join 
with  us  in  the  immediate  restoration  of  the  free 


and  unlimited  coinage  of  gold  and  silver  at  the 
present  legal  ratio  of  16  to  i,  without  waiting  for 
the  aid  or  consent  of  any  other  nation. 

"W.  J.  BRYAN." 

Overwhelming  and  all-pervading  prosperity 
has  not  yet  come.  How  true  are  the  predictions 
of  William  J.  Bryan  we  shall  see.  As  he  says, 
"The  year  1900  is  not  far  away." 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hil9ard  Avenue,  Lo«  Angeles,  CA  90024-13M 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  It  was^borrowed. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


